Job not done yet, but Leinster show their teeth again

RTÉ News​

6 hours ago

While Leinster overcame one hurdle on Saturday afternoon at the Aviva, a bigger one lies ahead next week.
In normal circumstances, the province would have been expected to deal with the Glasgow Warriors at home, as they had twice already this season, but the weight of three successive URC semi-final defeats, and the recent Champions Cup loss to Northampton Saints, meant there was a meaty burden on their shoulders last week.
A lot of questions have been asked of Leo Cullen and his players in recent weeks, and they delivered an impressive response in their 37-19 win yesterday. The final score didn't ultimately reflect their dominance, with Sam Prendergast missing five shots from the tee, and Glasgow scoring two late consolation tries.
Having looked lethargic in recent weeks, there was a greater energy to the province in yesterday's semi-final, with their defensive line consistently meeting the Glasgow attack behind the gainline.
"We always knew we had it in us," captain Jack Conan (below) said.
"It has obviously been a trying few weeks and a bit of disappointment and we said we want to go out there and be our best. We prepped well all week and the message from the coaches and players was spot on.
"When you play a team you play quite frequently, and that gives it back to you in spades, there is that motivation to do your best. We spoke just about being physical and dominant and we were for the majority and that is really pleasing.
"We'll use this as another stepping stone for next week."
They will renew rivalries with the Bulls at Croke Park in next Saturday's URC final, with Jake White's side 25-13 winners against the Sharks in Pretoria yesterday evening.
The South Africans have twice beaten Leinster in these play-offs, first at the RDS in 2022, knocking the province out again in the semis last year. On both occasions, the Bulls went on to lose the decider.
When the sides met in Pretoria in March in the regular season, the Bulls edged Leinster 21-20 with the final kick of the game, having dominated the scrum.
And Conan says they will relish the physical battle next week.
"Hugely, but it's never about them, it's about us and what we want to do.
"Even though it was good today it was disappointing to concede those two ties close to the end and there's lots of things we want to get better at.
"It will all count for nothing if we don't go on and win again and show that level of dominance that we did today. We're not getting ahead of ourselves, we know it is going to be a tough task next week.
"When we show up and are properly on it we are very hard to deal with. The game couldn't have started much better for us [today], Sammy's kick-off, Tommy's turnover into the corner. Lads paying on the gainline, it paid dividends."
Both Leinster second row Joe McCarthy and head coach Leo Cullen referenced some of the outside noise and criticism in the immediate aftermath of the game, and Cullen (below) admitted his team felt like they had a point to prove in yesterday's semi-final.
And after finally getting over the line in a URC semi-final at the fourth time of asking, he's hoping they can make home advantage count, as the head north of the Liffey to Croke Park.
"We don't have to travel too far for the final, thankfully," he said.
"We need to make that count in how we go about preparing because that's a bit that we can control. There are other bits that we can't control, unfortunately.
"Can they play their best every week? Listen, they're not robots. There is an opposition that is fully motivated as well. It's about dusting ourselves off now, very physical game and I'm sure the other one [Bulls v Sharks] will be too."