Leinster fans have gotten their way. Reports this morning are emerging that Australian Matt O'Connor has left his position as Leinster head coach as reported by Brendan Fanning.
Forwards coach Leo Cullen will take over O'Connor's duties until a replacement is found. Leinster do not have any more games to play this season following the final day of the Pro 12 last Saturday.
Matt O'Connor parting company with Leinster. Players told first thing this morning. Leo Cullen likely to fill gap in short term
— Brendan Fanning (@BrendanFanning) May 21, 2015
Hearing Matt O'Connor left by mutual consent and was not sacked per-se by @leinsterrugby , more to follow. #leinster
— Oisin Langan (@oisinlangan) May 21, 2015
There has been increasing pressure on O'Connor after a poor season that saw Leinster miss out on the Pro 12 semi finals for the first time, while a favourable draw saw them reach the Champions Cup semi final where they did well to push Toulon close in extra time.
Attendances have been dwindling at the RDS due to an overreliance on the international players despite an increased production from the Leinster academy. Leinster's play has been criticised as boring, with a lot of on-out runners and handling errors driving fans away.
The media have been very vocal in their opposition to O'Connor, but the players were firmly behind O'Connor as recently as yesterday. O'Connor was very vocal in his opposition to Ireland's player management system which may have lost some support among the IRFU.
See Also: 5 Potential Contenders To Become Leinster Head Coach
See Also: Only Neil Francis Could Say These Things About Matt O'Connor
