LEINSTER HEAD COACH Leo Cullen says it is important for his side to understand the rules of the game and produce \u2018good pictures\u2019 to referees when it comes to their discipline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The standard of refereeing in the Guinness Pro14 was called into question by Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill last week, as the Englishman levelled accusations of cheating at Connacht for persistent infringements.<\/p>\n
Leo Cullen speaking at today’s pre-match press conference. Source: Laszlo Geczo\/INPHO<\/p>\n
Speaking ahead of Edinburgh\u2019s visit to the RDS on Saturday evening [KO 7.35pm, eir Sport\/Premier Sports], Cullen said Leinster are always looking for ways to tighten their discipline in all aspects of the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah that\u2019s the way we\u2019d always be anyway,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to figure out and understand the certain traits of different referees and be able to adapt to those styles on any given day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to present good pictures and make sure we have good behaviours to the referees, because you might get away with a couple of trends. We get different send outs from the referee manager [Pro14 head of referees Craig Garner] every week and these are the things referees are being told to focus on this week and that goes on throughout the course of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to understand what those images are and some teams have got pointed out for them over the past couple of weeks \u2014 \u2018these teams have portrayed these behaviours\u2019 \u2014 and we don\u2019t want to be one of those teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure we understand the rules of the games are and we\u2019re able to go out and deliver on those. It\u2019s an important part of the game.<\/p>\n
Welshman Dan Jones is the man in the middle at the RDS on Saturday evening, and no doubt the spotlight will be on the official\u2019s decisions in the wake of Cockerill\u2019s comments.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Edinburgh head coach has made nine changes in personnel from last week\u2019s win over Connacht, leaving Scottish internationals\u00a0Blair Kinghorn, Henry Pyrgos, Grant Gilchrist, Hamish Watson, Matt Scott, WP Nel and Stuart McInally at home for the round four clash in Dublin.<\/p>\n
Instead, Cockerill has bolstered his tight five further and Cullen is under no illusions of what his former Leicester head coach will look to do against the Pro14 and European champions.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did something very similar last year and we looked at some of the clips, and we were very lucky I think to come away with a win,\u201d Cullen continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a strong squad Edinburgh, I think that\u2019s the first thing to note. They\u2019ve picked a very big front five so it gives you a fair idea of what they intend to do there. The back row they have is very aggressive and they\u2019ve a lot of good footballers and pace.<\/p>\n
James Lowe comes back into the Leinster team. Source: Bryan Keane\/INPHO<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re strong, there\u2019s not much between the players they have and I think it\u2019s something he\u2019ll try and do as well, create that competition and make sure nobody feels safe. That\u2019s something I\u2019d imagine Richard is a big fan of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cullen himself has made a number of changes from last week\u2019s bonus-point win over Dragons, as the eastern province continue to shuffle their deck ahead of the inter-pro double-header and the start of the Champions Cup pool stages.<\/p>\n
Kiwi winger James Lowe comes back into the team having sat out last Saturday while Dan Leavy is in line for his first appearance of the season off the bench having recovered from a shoulder injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s another opportunity for guys to showcase what they can do,\u201d Cullen added. \u201cI thought we had a great crowd against the Dragons, so hopefully we will see more of the same on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players know what is at stake with this run of games that we are on. We have Connacht away next week, Munster the week after at the Aviva and then we are into Europe.<\/p>\n