Now they had the back-line ammunition to take that extra step. Cullen was the man.

Or so everybody thought back then but as we all know, things haven't quite worked out like that. Within a week of his arrival it was confirmed by Munster that Cullen needed a "minor operation" on his right shoulder that would keep him out of action for a few weeks. That was November, remember. He eventually made his Munster debut at a packed Musgrave Park during a Celtic League game against the Ospreys on 27 February. Munster lost that one 18-15 and they lost the next three games he started in too. After a little knock to his knee, Cullen played his first Heineken Cup game as Munster beat Stade Francais at the quarter-final stage at Thomond Park, and he played in that epic semi-final against Wasps at Lansdowne Road.

And that's where some of the arguments about Cullen begin. That afternoon he did miss a tackle to allow Tom Voyce to score Wasps' late equalising try and that's what most people remember. But if you dig that little bit deeper and watch the video again, it's easy to see that Cullen is one of a trio of Munster players that really stepped up when Ronan O'Gara hobbled off with an ankle injury. Even though Jason Holland replaced the Irish out-half, Cullen stepped in at number 10 on numerous occasions and if anyone sparked Munster's start of the second-half revival that afternoon, it was the former All Black. But these things tend to get lost in time.

The other debate, of course, is whether he's been anything close to the player he was back in his heyday.

We've only seen brief examples of the mesmerising running that wowed us all back in the late 90s but his reading of the game is still light years ahead of many others. As he admits himself, you can't win games on your own as the years start to take their toll.

"I'm a wiser, more experienced player now, " he said in a recent interview back in New Zealand. "I won't be running 100 yards for solo tries but I will be helping to put a younger, quicker bloke away.

Your mentality changes. You think more about passing."

The great pity is that after the Wasps game, the rest of his Munster career has been blighted by injury stories. Following a decent run in the 2004/05 season at full-back, a year in which he played in all his side's Heineken Cup pool games, Cullen damaged his other shoulder, the left one, against Cardiff in a Celtic League match and the initial prognosis was that he'd be out of the game for four to six months.

Unfortunately even that outlook was optimistic. It was confirmed last August that the ligaments in that shoulder still hadn't healed properly and the full-back would be in the rehabilitation room until February. Which again was slightly off the mark because he didn't make his return from injury until coming on as a late, late substitute on 1 April against Perpignan at Lansdowne Road.

And now Cullen, whose three-year deal runs out this June, is playing for his Munster future, as confirmed by the province's chief executive, Garett Fitzgerald, a couple of weeks back. The player himself well knows the situation. "If I can't get my body right or if Munster don't want me then I'd have to take a look around the place, " he told the New Zealand Herald recently. "I guess that might be time to hang up my boots.

But I felt I owe the Munster people something and I'm determined to stay for another year and give them something back." The New Zealander has readily admitted in the past that he's almost been embarrassed by the amount of injuries he's picked up during his spell in Ireland but he does have a couple more opportunities to redeem himself.

In case you haven't realised, Munster are somewhat light in their back division and as the Heineken Cup final approaches, Cullen has every chance of starting against Biarritz in Cardiff on 20 May. Two Friday's ago he played at full-back against the Borders and looked fit and tuned in, running his usual sumptuous lines on the shoulder of the ball-carrier.

And on Friday he lined out at 13 against the Ospreys. The shirt has been something of a jinx for Munster over the past couple of months and it was no different the other night.

Cullen limped off on 60 minutes with an ankle injury but the belief is that the injury is not too serious. He'll probably miss the Llanelli game on Tuesday but Munster are hopeful he'll be in contention for the Heineken Cup final, their next game after that.

Before the injury he wasn't anything close to his brilliant best against the Ospreys, but playing behind a pack that struggled to get any sort of decent possession, he was never going to get much opportunity. When he did get the ball in hand, he dropped it on a couple of occasions but that sort of thing will happen when you're out of the game for the bones of 13 months. It was clear to see the frustration on his face after he made those mistakes but that only goes to show how keen Cullen is to give something back to Munster after everything they've invested in him.

A nice little streak of form on 20 May would do exactly that. Remember, Cullen was signed by Munster with the sole aim of helping the side lift the Heineken Cup and even if he comes on in the last five minutes against Biarritz and does something which helps Munster towards reaching their Holy Grail, nothing else will matter. He will have been a success. He will have done what he came for.

He still has his chance of redemption.