Leinster exorcised some demons in Croke Park with emphatic display

Extra.ie​

8 hours ago

Four years of hurt has finally come to an end and, at times during this compelling performance, it felt like Leinster were taking all that frustration out on a Bulls team which looked overwhelmed long before the final whistle.
Willie le Roux was one of many Springboks stars who fluffed their lines. When the Bulls full-back fumbled a pass with nine minutes left on the clock and proceeded to boot the ball into the stand in anger, it summed up a wretched day for the South Africans who have now lost three URC finals in four seasons.
After all those Champions Cup and URC knockout failures, this entire Leinster setup finally has something tangible to show for it. They turned up a big day and played to their potential. No, it won't exorcise the European demons but this will kickstart the healing process. Leinster celebrate as champions of the URC. Pic: INPHO
Leinster have borne so much criticism in the wake of that Champions Cup semi-final defeat but there was merit to much of it. Because Leo Cullen's side look untouchable when they're in this kind of form.
There was a focus, intensity and intent about Leinster from the first whistle yesterday.
Leinster were dealt a massive injury blow on the morning of the game when Jamison Gibson-Park was ruled out.
Or was it? This game was made for Luke McGrath. No, the veteran Leinster scrum-half does not offer the same fast-twitch, hawk-eyed brilliance as Gibson-Park but McGrath is an experienced, savvy and utterly committed operator.
The 32-year-old won the last of his 19 Ireland caps in 2019, but he remains a valued member of this Leinster squad. Yesterday was fresh evidence. This was a day for playing the percentages. No better man than McGrath. He had a huge game.
He wasn't alone. Much has been made of the sizeable list of injured frontliners in the Leinster ranks. A stellar crew featuring Tadhg Furlong, Caelan Doris, Robbie Henshaw and Hugo Keenan. Leinster's Ryan Baird celebrates with Dan Sheehan with champagne in the dressing room after the game
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ben Brady
None of them were missed yesterday. Thomas Clarkson had a huge day at the coalface. All the pre-game chat centred around this gargantuan Bulls pack, spearheaded by their giant tighthead Wilco Louw, and how their scrum was going to play a bit part in this final.
Clarkson didn't get the memo. From the moment he won an early scrum penalty, the 25-year-old was in the zone. This was a big day in a fledgling career. Clarkson made his Test debut last November and endured a rough outing against Wales in the Six Nations. This was a galvanising performance against elite opposition.
Andrew Porter deserves plenty of credit for Leinster's scrum effort, too. Porter was part of Leinster unit which bullied the Bulls. Dan Sheehan, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan all turned up in a big way.
Conan has led this team manfully since Doris was suffered that season-ending shoulder injury against Northampton
Sam Prendergast answered a few critics as well. The Leinster out-half bossed the game. He made his tackles, kicked his goals and looked right at home.
Individually and collectively, this Leinster team swarmed the visitors during a dominant first half. The hosts were positively feral in the opening 40 minutes.
There were echoes of the Champions Cup final in 2023 when Leinster established a similar lead against La Rochelle only to fall away in the final quarter. There was let up this time around.
The 'everyone hates Leinster' mantra has served this squad well in recent weeks. It lit a fire under this playing group after that Northampton defeat had seemingly punctured their entire campaign. Leinster head coach Leo Cullen. Pic: INPHO/Craig Watson
Andy Farrell will be heartened by what he saw. The sizeable Leinster contingent are straight into Lions duty today and they will arrive into camp with a spring in their step. The Lions head coach knows that the Leinster contingent have finally flushed those Champions Cup gremlins out of the system.
Fittingly, the first-half concluded with McGrath lunching himself at Johan Goosen like an exocet missile after Ryan Baird had levelled Marcell Coetzee during a late defensive stand. The Bulls eventually ran out of willing carriers and ideas and Leinster charged off the pitch with a deserved 19-point lead.
Thing is, it could have been even worse for the Bulls. Harold Vorster was a lucky man when he appeared to make contact with the eye area of McCarthy during an early skirmish. Referee Andrea Piardi absolutely bottled that call, merely awarding a penalty in Leinster's favour. It harked back to the Battle of Pretoria in 2009 when Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald was gouged by Springbok flanker Schalk Burger and French referee Christophe Berdos deemed the infraction only worthy of a yellow card. Shocking.
No matter, the Bulls could have had 16 men on the field yesterday and they would have struggled. The visitors looks positively shellshocked as they left for the sanctity of the half-time break. Leinster, meanwhile, charged off the pitch with Clarkson getting a pat on the back from fellow tighthead Rabah Slimani.
After biblical downpours all day, the sun then broke through the clouds over Hill 16.
We were barely two minutes into the second half when Ryan – who put in a serious shift – was called ashore, with RG Snyman entering the fray.
Prendergast kept the scoreboard ticking over with a penalty front of the sticks and when replacement hooker Akker van der Merwe was mauled over the line, we wondered if a late Bulls resurgence was on the cards?
No way. Leinster weren't in the mood. When Prendergast shanked a kickable three-point in the 62nd minute, it drew a collective gasp from the 46,127-strong crowd. It felt like the first time that a Leinster player had made a big error.
A perfect day at GAA headquarters was topped off when replacement scrum-half Fintan Gunne, who wasn't even in the matchday 23 until Gibson-Park's late withdrawal yesterday morning, showed a clean pair of heels to score in the corner. Ross Byrne, playing his last game for Leinster before his summer move to Gloucester, fired over the touchline conversion.
What a way to land a first URC title. It should be the first of many if Leinster can replicate this performance in the seasons ahead. Even the haters would agree.