Huge blow for Leinster as Lion Jamison Gibson-Park is ruled out of the URC final against the Bulls
Leinster have been dealt a significant late blow on the morning of their BKT URC final against the Bulls at Croke Park after Lion Jamison Gibson-Park was withdrawn this morning.
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The 42
34 minutes ago
- The 42
'Leinster are not a normal team. 19-0 up and they bring on RG Snyman'
BULLS BOSS JAKE White said he needs more international players if his side are to close the gap on Leinster, who he lavished with praise after their dominant URC final performance. The Irish province were convincing 32-7 winners in Croke Park. Leo Cullen's men won 19 of their 21 games in the URC this season, topping the regular season table and powering through the play-offs to claim the title. White, a World Cup winner with the Springboks in 2007, has now seen his Bulls team lose three URC finals. He was gushing in his words about the quality of Leinster as he highlighted the excellence of their showing. 'You have to understand, this is not a normal rugby team,' said White. 'We are naive when… I made a note in my book, they are 19-0 up and they bring on RG Snyman. 'It's just a different league altogether and that's why Leinster supporters are probably so disappointed because they were waiting for that performance the whole year and we just happened to get the 40 minutes that they were waiting for the whole year. 'We couldn't get our hands on the ball, they started well. After 17 minutes, they are 19-0 up and that is after everyone says, 'Don't let them start well.' Advertisement 'I say again to all the Irish, I don't think they give the credit to that Leinster team. They are well-coached, they are fantastic guys as well. 'Since I started at this level with URC, they are the benchmark and tonight they showed it again. 'We were never going to win that game when they got that 14-point start. I can't remember any team that has come back from 19-0 down and beaten them. We need to find out how you turn silver into gold now.' White referenced how smoothly Leinster dealt with losing Jamison Gibson-Park to injury late on in the week, with the experienced Luke McGrath stepping in impressively. The Bulls boss pointed to Leinster's scrum performance as important too, while he praised the impact of his compatriot Jacques Nienaber on Leinster's defence. The Bulls were second best. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO 'It would be wrong of me not to say Jacques' defence was outstanding,' said White. 'We tried bashing their line. They kept us out just before half time and it must have been a massive boost for them. 'Credit to Jacques and the defence. We were a little bit one-off instead of running with numbers, people around the ball, but that's what happens when you're under the pump against a good team. You have to give credit where credit's due. Out of the three finals, this is by far the toughest final we've had. 'Make no bones about it, they've gone another level up. That was Test rugby. It's like everything is in fast forward.' Two-time World Cup winner Handré Pollard is among the new additions for the Bulls ahead of next season, but White is worried that the gap to Leinster won't close any time soon. 'The lesson I've taken from that is we need more international players to play in our province,' said White. 'I need what Leinster have. I need to be able to fight fire with fire. Leinster, Toulouse, La Rochelle, what do you need to win those games? Academy players or seasoned internationals? 'The biggest cheer tonight was for Jordie Barrett. He's not Irish. Please don't take it the wrong way but that's what I've learned. They're sitting in the coaching box, 19-0 up, and say, ' RG, warm up.' They put him on and let him menace the defence like he did tonight. 'I keep banging the same drum. I've coached some of the best players in the world, players who have won player of the year twice. If you're playing against 23 internationals, I think today Leinster were short with only 22, there is a complete difference. 'That's a phenomenal provincial team. That must be the best Leinster team, I know that's going to be headline but that must be one of the best Leinster squads they've ever had.'
The 42
3 hours ago
- The 42
'To lift a trophy in the Hogan Stand with all your mates, it's incredibly special'
LEINSTER DID THEIR trophy lift, enjoyed their lap of honour, and then they went up into the Hogan Stand for another trophy lift. Croke Park traditions and all. The first moment Jack Conan got his hands on the URC trophy down on the pitch was as delightful as he had imagined. In keeping with another tradition, he shared the lift with injured captain Caelan Doris and the retiring Cian Healy. Others like Ross Byrne, Liam Turner, and Rob Russell are leaving Leinster too, but it was only right that Healy got his moment in the limelight, even if he fought against it. 'I would have loved to have Ross and Liamo and Robbo up there, but three people lifting a trophy is enough,' said Conan. 'Caelan is a fantastic captain and I'm only here today because he unfortunately has been injured. He has led the team unbelievably well. We compete for a position but get on so well. He has been brilliant. 'Then for Cian, who is probably Leinster's greatest ever servant, for all he has done. He would hate that. I said it to him that I knew he would say no, but to please come up and lift the trophy because it's only fitting that someone like that who has given their all and done incredibly well over the years gets their final moment with the trophy. I'm glad he said yes because I thought he was going to fight me. It's the least he deserved.' As for the second trophy lift in the Hogan Stand, Conan was just going with the flow. Advertisement He couldn't shed light on whose idea it was. 'I have absolutely no idea,' said Conan. 'Marcus O'Buachalla [Leinster's head of communications], he needs a shout out at least once a week! 'I was conscious of the lads trying to lift up my shirt and making an absolute mug of me so I was tucking that in. 'Look, to be in the Hogan Stand to lift a trophy with all your mates, family, loved ones, it's incredibly special and something that will live long in the memory. 'I had a few words as Gaeilge but I was told my pronunciation was all over the place, so they told me not to do it! I don't think they wanted me to do a speech, I was told less is more!' Leinster's first trophy lift. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Conan was beaming with pride after Leinster's 32-7 win over the Bulls. He was clearly eager to get back into the celebrations but he took the time to underline his pride at their performance on the big occasion 'I'm just delighted for the lads they performed. That's what we spoke about during the week. We didn't want to be outcome-focused, we wanted to be performance-focused. And it think we did that in spades today. 'For 80-odd minutes, I think the lads showed up really well, were incredibly physical and that's what we asked of each other.' Leinster's brilliant start was crucial as they raced into a 19-0 lead, but there was as much satisfaction in shutting the Bulls out with two massive defensive stands just before half time. 'It boils down to man on man and wanting to put your head where you wouldn't put a shovel,' said Conan. 'Getting off the line and trying to whack people. You can lose focus a little bit and think about all the different parts of rugby but ultimately it's a physical game and what we teed ourselves up for all week was the physicality of it and winning a battle and I think we did that throughout. 'Everyone spoke about the threat of their scrum and I thought the lads were great. A few decisions didn't go our way but you look at the lads who came on in the second half were incredible – and the lads who started as well were brilliant 'So unbelievably proud of everyone's effort, not just the lads who played today but everyone who contributed throughout the season.'
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Leinster Jack Conan relishes ‘incredibly special' moments at Croke Park following URC win
Jack Conan described sharing the URC trophy lift with Caelan Doris and Cian Healy as 'incredibly special' after Leinster's 32-7 win over the Bulls in the final at Croke Park. The Leinster captain also credited their media manager Marcus O'Buachalla for the idea of paying homage to All-Ireland winning teams by conducting a second trophy lift in the Hogan Stand. 'It's not something you could ever dream of when you were growing up, or even in the last few years because obviously it has been so long since we had played here as a club,' said Conan after Leinster's fifth and most significant win of their five visits to the iconic home of the GAA. 'So, it's not something that was ever you on your radar but it's just fantastic. I know it wasn't full today but there were 46-odd thousand people and we could feel every single one of them. READ MORE [ URC Grand Final: Five things we learned as Leinster end trophy drought after four years Opens in new window ] 'We could hear their voices and they got behind us. They stayed after the final whistle for us to do a lap. One of the big reasons we do what we do is to give back to the people who come to support us through the good days and the bad days. 'It's incredibly pertinent that we give them something to celebrate. I think everyone is just elated.' Conan said he had 'absolutely no idea' whose idea it was before venturing: 'Marcus O'Buachalla! He needs a shout out at least once a week!' He added: 'I was conscious of the lads trying to lift up my shirt and making an absolute mug of me so I was tucking that in. Leinster's Andrew Porter celebrates with champagne in the dressing room after the game. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho 'Look, to be on the Hogan Stand to lift a trophy with all your mates, family, loved ones, it's incredibly special and something that will live long in the memory. 'I had a few words as Gaeilge but I was told my pronunciation was all over the place, so they told me not to do it! I don't think they wanted me to do a speech. I was told less is more!' Asked if the squad had emphasised the need to mark the occasion with an 80-minute performance, Conan said: 'No. We went the complete opposite way. We spoke about taking it moment by moment, being where your feet are and not getting ahead of ourselves. 'We knew it would be unbelievably physical. There's no point focusing on the bigger pressure, it's on the here and now. I thought we dealt really well with how direct they were at the end of the first half. They were attacking our line hard and we're holding them out and some of those shots were incredible,' said Conan, admitting the two extended goal-line defensive sets leading up to the interval which kept their 19-0 lead intact typified the team's performance. 'It boils down to man on man and wanting to put your head where you wouldn't put a shovel. Getting off the line and trying to whack people. 'You can lose focus a little bit and think about rugby, all the different parts of it, but it's a physical game, and what we teed ourselves up for all week was the physical battle, and I think we did that throughout.' Leo Cullen said this triumph was for everybody in the organisation and especially the 46,127 in attendance, which was a record for a final in Dublin. Leinster's RG Snyman and Jamison Gibson-Park celebrate after the game. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho 'It was an amazing atmosphere out there today. Normally when you're in the Aviva, you're in a glass coaches' box and you're way off getting the sense of the occasion. Two Wicklow lads here getting involved in a final at Croke Park, a rare sight,' Cullen added, referencing himself and Conan. 'It's a very difficult competition to win, just the nature of the way the season is and there's a lot of great teams involved. The South African teams have been an amazing addition to the tournament. The Bulls are a great team.' Leinster's win earned them a first trophy in four seasons and after losing three finals and four semi-finals since last winning the Pro14 behind closed doors in 2021. 'Is your season, when you get to a final, a success or a failure,' asked Cullen rhetorically. 'Unfortunately, you guys, the way you write, the losers of a final suddenly are failures, whereas you get to the last day of the competition, I think you need to celebrate the two teams that are in the final. 'Obviously we've been on the flip side of that in the past. Does that deem us failures? I personally don't think it's a failure. We win today, it's great but we'll move on to the next challenge. We'll watch the guys that are on tour with Ireland and the Lions. That's a big part of what we want to try and do as well, push guys on to play at the next level. 'The rest of us will take a break, put the feet up for a while and spend time with family and friends.' Leinster head coach Leo Cullen with Jordie Barrett after the game. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho For his part, the Bulls' World Cup winning head coach Jake White heaped praise on Leinster in admitting they were eminently worthy winners on the day and champions over the season. 'This is not a normal team,' said White of Leinster. 'I made a note that they were 19-0 up and they bring on RG Snyman. It's just a different league. Leinster fans have been waiting for that 40-minute first-half performance all season. They are well coached and I don't know them all but I met Josh van der Flier and he's world-class and world-class as a person. 'They are the benchmark and have been for four years. That's our third loss in a final and now I have to try and find out how to turn silver into gold.' White also cited the 'seamless' change Leinster made at scrumhalf by bringing in Luke McGrath for Jamison Gibson-Park, and noted how Leinster targeted a Bulls' area of strength, their scrum. 'That's what international teams do,' said White, adding: 'We've been in three finals and that was by far the toughest final. That was another level up. That was another level up. That was Test rugby.' On how quickly Leinster realigned in defence and attack, White remarked: 'It was like everything was in fast forward. For our players they saw a different, organised tempo than they've seen all season. That's a phenomenal team.
