Leinster tame Bulls as Leo Cullen's side end trophy drought in URC Grand Final decider at Croke Park
LEINSTER grabbed the Bulls by the horns to make a tricky final look easy to end their four-year wait to land more silverware.
A forward-inspired 32-7 victory over the South Africans was done in the first half as Jack Conan, Jordie Barrett and Josh van der Flier scored before rookie Fintan Gunne's late try.
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Jordie Barrett scored a stunning solo try in the URC Grand final on Saturday at Croke Park
Had you said then that
Leinster's win in 2021 was their fourth successive Pro14 title, and they also won the Champions Cup in 2018 and reached the final in 2019.
But the past four years have seen Champions Cup final defeats in 2022 and 2023 to La Rochelle and 2024 to Toulouse.
Silverware was a must this year, but it was supposed to be in the Champions Cup only for Leinster to choke in the semi-final at the Aviva Stadium against Northampton.
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Being honest, the
Bringing together teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa produces the carbon footprint of a sasquatch, without too much hot air about the games themselves.
Leinster want to win it every year but the team sheets in the winter make it clear that the priority is the Champions Cup; and fans and media act accordingly.
But when there are only two trophies to play for every year, winning the secondary one is still a big deal and it was evident on the night.
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The crowd of 46,127 - a record attendance for an Irish final in the competition - showed the public interest, as did the smiles of Leo Cullen, James Lowe et al at the final whistle.
Would everyone of a Leinster persuasion prefer a Champions Cup? Absolutely.
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But after four years of hurt, and seeing and hearing the pleasure the Leinster-haters out there take from it, it was a win that was savouried.
And it was also never in doubt the way they tackled the game and tackled the Bulls, with player of the match Ryan Baird leading by example.
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They were on their way after just seven minutes when Conan went over for a try after Leinster worked the maul off Baird's catch off a line-out under the Hogan Stand.
Barrett then scored a brilliant second try on 14 minutes when he raced Luke McGrath's perfect kick through that fell too shallow for Bulls Willie le Roux.
And with the Springboks fullback in no man's land, Barrett showed his quick mind as he kicked the ball on the ground.
And he then easily won the race with Leinster teammate Tommy O'Brien to score the try himself.
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Leinster's third try was similar to the first. Another lineout under the Hogan Stand that was caught by Baird before van der Flier powered through the middle of maul to score.
Bulls were so off the pace - and below what was expected - that they did enter the Leinster 22 until after 32 minutes.
And what followed them was four minutes, 18 phases and a lack of ideas that resulted in le Roux kicking straight into Sam Prendergast's arms.
When Bulls quickly got back into the Leinster 22, they also messed it up with a silly forward pass that brought the half to a close.
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It was a 40 minutes to forget all around for the South Africans and they were lucky not to be further behind.
Johan Goosen knocked on in the opening minutes that nearly led to Garry Ringrose running through.
And a very casual crossfield kick by le Roux was knocked out by James Lowe standing inside the Bulls 22 when he could have walked in a try had he caught the ball cleanly.
But while Lowe let that one slip. Leinster were playing like a team in no mood to let anything else out of their grasp.
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Van der Flier was central to it all, whether scoring a try, carrying the ball, clearing out or cleaning up.
Leinster added to their lead five minutes into the second half when Sam Prendergast nailed a penalty - his third successful kick after missing one conversion.
But Bulls finally got on the scoreboard on 52 minutes with a try similar to Leinster's two lineout set-pieces in the first half.
This time, Bulls made it work as they won the lineout and fed it back to replacement hooker Akker van der Merwe who bowled over to cut the gap to 15 points.
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Given Leinster's habit of getting the jitters, they were then back under the microscope again but Andrew Porter won a big scrum penalty on the hour mark to settle some nerves.
Had Prendergast not pulled his penalty on 63 minutes, it may well have been game over with an 18-point advantage.
But Prendergast did make it 18 points on 68 minutes with what was his last action of the game before being replaced by Ross Byrne.
Replacement scrumhalf Gunne then added a fourth try of the evening six minutes from time when a loop around as he exchanged passes with Byrne to score.
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And Byrne then said goodbye to Leinster as he joins Gloucester this summer by nailing the conversion to make it a convincing victory.
Leinster: J O'Brien, T O'Brien, G Ringrose, J Barrett, J Lowe, S Prendergast, L McGrath; A Porter, D Sheehan, T Clarkson, J McCarthy, J Ryan, R Baird, J van der Flier, J Conan.
Replacements: RG Snyman for J Ryan (43 mins), R Kelleher for D Sheehan, R Slimani for T Clarkson (56 mins), R Byrne for S Prendergast, F Gunne for L McGrath (69 mins)
Bulls: W la Roux, C Moodie, D Kriel, H Vorster, S de Klerk, J Goosen, E Papier, J Wessels, J Grobbelaar, W Louw, C Wiese, J van Heerden, M van Staden, R Nortje, M Cotezee.
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Replacements: J Kirsten for C Wiese (36 mins), A van der Merwe for J Grobbelaar (45 mins), A Tshakweni for J Wessels (53 mins), N Carr for M Coetzee,M Smith for W Louw (65 mins), D Williams for S de Klerk (67 mins), K Johannes for J Goosen (69 mins), Z Burger for E Papier (72 mins)
LEINSTER 32
BULLS 7
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