Josh van der Flier, aged 22, was a relatively old head at the RDS with the likes of Ross Molony, James Tracy, Peter Dooley, Garry Ringrose, Luke McGrath, and Tadhg Furlong coming into the side.
But Cullen's gamble paid off as 20 points from the boot of Ian Madigan and a try for replacement Sean Cronin saw Leinster to a 25-11 win, showing the future certainly looks bright for the boys in blue in the GUINNESS PRO12.
"It was good that they got a positive experience," he said. "We have huge faith in them as coaches, we can see the work they put in. It was important they just handled the occasion.
"They're the guys who have shown really positive characteristics day in day out and they showed it on the field.
"There's no real coincidence, they work hard all the time and they put in a good shift.
"They lack in experience, but they made up for it in the endeavour and work they put in.
"I'm delighted for them that they got a really good reception from the crowd; there was an unbelievable noise out there."
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