Why Leinster now have to win the URC
This weekend was a quiet one for Irish rugby, with no provincial involvement in the Champions Cup final. Still, plenty of intriguing storylines emerged; Noel McNamara's triumph, Henry Pollock's return back to Earth plus the curious level of antipathy towards this game in Ireland.
Gordon D'Arcy joins Nathan Johns to discuss rugby's place in the sporting calendar, how important it is that Leinster win the URC this year, the mentality of winning and losing as well as the newly announced Club World Cup set for 2028.
Produced by John Casey.
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RTÉ News
41 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
'Winning ugly' may serve Leinster better than blowouts
Hugo Keenan admits that Leinster won ugly against Scarlets but getting over the line in nervy contests may serve them better at the business end of the BKT URC. Just a couple of weeks ago, head coach Leo Cullen wondered about "some of these blowout games, I'm not sure what we necessarily have learned from a few of them". He was referring to the Champions Cup wins over Harlequins (62-0) and Glasgow Warriors (52-0) that did little in the way of preparing them for the dogfight that was coming down the line against Northampton in the semi-final. The 76-5 victory over Zebre a week later was of similar worth in the long run. So Cullen will be able to take some solace from the fact that Leinster were able to prevail in tighter affairs against the Warriors two weeks ago and the Scarlets, 33-21, on Saturday. URC half-time: Leinster 15-14 Scarlets - Scarlets go the length of the field at the end of the first half. Updates: LIVE: — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 31, 2025 Captain Jack Conan called the performance "inaccurate" and said they "just forced things a little bit of over-eagerness." Full-back Keenan, named player of the match, said: "It's all about getting the job done, getting the win. "It wasn't pretty, it wasn't perfect, we were ill-disciplined and a little bit scrappy, especially in that first half. "That's sometimes what it's about, winning ugly a little bit." Leinster led by just a point at the break but grabbed two tries in the third quarter to stay out of reach of Dwayne Peel's side, who had won their regular season tie at the end of April. "There was a heavy downpour at the start of the second half and we had to manage the game a bit better," added the Ireland full-back (below), who scored the fourth try. "Jamo [Gibson-Park] and Sam [Prendergast] and the lads put us in the right positions and kept them at arm's length, which was important," "In these knockout games, you can't really be taking high risks and playing rugby all the time." RTÉ Rugby analysts Jamie Heaslip and Donncha O'Callaghan were unimpressed by the Leinster showing, which sets them up for a semi-final meeting with defending champions Glasgow this Saturday (2.45pm, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player). Heaslip called it "lacklustre"; while "rudderless was O'Callaghan's verdict. Hooker Dan Sheehan was asked about how the squad was dealing with the fall-out from the Saints defeat. "It's been up and down but I think we've done a good job of sticking together, trying to block out as much outside noise as possible," said the Ireland front row, who will go on the Lions tour. "I think mentally we're in a good spot, we're looking after each other well and I think that's all we can do. "We'll rip into our prep now for Glasgow during the week and go again." The Scottish side have lost nine of their last 11 games against Leinster, including both games this season. Head coach Franco Smith believes his team, who impressed in the 36-18 win over Stormers on Friday, are better set for another swing at Leinster. "You must put the Leinster games in perspective," he said. "The first one, we were in the middle of the season, there were a lot of injuries in that period. There were so many out at that certain stage. "The expectation [on Leinster] was massive because they hadn't played their top team since the Six Nations. "Everything worked for them. Nothing went well [for us]. "If that happens with Leinster, they could put international teams away like that. That's what we took from that. "The next time, we were more ready for the challenge. Hopefully that will help us this time."
RTÉ News
41 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Kieran McGeeney rues missed goal chances but happy that Armagh topped group
Kieran McGeeney felt both his Armagh side and Dublin failed to hit the heights in their clash at Croke Park, while also lamenting the number of goal chances spurned by the All-Ireland SFC champions. A five-point win at GAA HQ ensured the Ulster county's progression through to the quarter-finals of this year's race for Sam Maguire, with the Dubs now needing to avoid defeat in their final-round encounter against Derry to ensure that they remain involved. It was a deserved win for Armagh, this despite the 17 wides that Dessie Farrell's side chalked up and their 4/3 breaches. For McGeeney, he felt his side could have made a greater indent on the scoreboard by way of raising green flags. Speaking to RTÉ Sport, he summed up the clash by saying: "Both teams weren't at their best." On the failure to put the ball past Stephen Cluxton, he said: "We missed a lot of goal chances in the first half and they missed a lot of chances overall. "There wouldn't have been much in it if they had their shooting boots on. We had four one-on-ones with Stephen and got nothing out of it and I think they got three points from our 12-point chances. Look, it was great to win the game and we top the group, so that's a big thing for us." That said, the Orchard County boss was less than impressed by what he witnessed. Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney sees plenty of room for improvement with his side's performance, despite their five point victory over Dublin at Croke Park, a win that sends them into the to All-Ireland quarter-finals. #RTEGAA #TheSundayGame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 1, 2025 He added: "You can see the pace of Dublin when they go on the attack and they are frightening when they go through that middle part. We were happy with some parts but if we are to progress any further we will need a big improvement. "We did a lot of good stuff but at this level you have to take those chances. Cluxton is a top keeper but we made it easy for them and I'm sure Dessie is in there giving them loads for missing those point chances." His opposite number also lamented his side's accuracy in front of the posts, Farrell commenting: "It was disappointing in that I thought we prepared well but we were sloppy out there. Shooting efficiency cost us dearly and we had a couple of those technical breaches as well, which was very unlike us. "That cost us five points and you won't get way with that against a team like Armagh. At this stage we have to stay on script and keep driving on; it's about development, growth, taking the lessons, and continuing to build for ourselves. There are ups and downs along the way. Today wasn't a good day and we're into knockout football now." Dublin boss Dessie Farrell was left to rue wayward shooting and technical infringements as his side suffered a five point defeat to Armagh at Croke Park. #RTEGAA #TheSundayGame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 1, 2025 What will frustrate Farrell even more was that his troops started brightly but could not regain the initiative when Armagh got on top after the 20-minute mark in the opening half. "The first quarter was really good and we looked very sharp and very clinical. We then lost our way and we'll try and unpack that from a mental perspective as well as everything else. "That second quarter before half-time was costly, we were constantly chasing and though at times were getting a foothold, getting at their kickout which was very difficult to do. "That was giving us a bit of momentum but we could not convert off that and had a lot of bad wides, coupled with poor decision-making. "Shot selection in the last quarter could have had us closer but ultimately it didn't happen for us because we didn't perform the way we would have wanted to."
Irish Examiner
42 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Leo Cullen: 'It's knockout rugby, what matters is getting through'
URC: Leinster 33 Scarlets 21 Alone they stand of Ireland's four provinces, again, and yet this URC quarter-final defeat of an honest but limited Scarlets side only heightened the suspicion that something is just not clicking for Leinster this season. Leo Cullen was happy to have 'won ugly' by the end of a game that they won by four tries to three and a dozen points against a side that played 20 second-half minutes with 14 men, but this won't do again. Not nearly. Keep playing like this and either Glasgow Warriors or one of the two South African sides in the other semi-final will do for them before this playoff run is out and it will be a fourth year on the trot without a trophy to decorate their efforts. Leinster had 65% possession and 70% territory on Saturday and they still couldn't shake off their Welsh opponents at any stage – this despite a whirlwind start that had them 12-0 to the good after just ten minutes. The perception abroad is that the men in blue are gettable. Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel inferred as much afterwards when he spoke about how they felt a screw could be turned if they just hung in there long enough. Mental concerns may well be feeding into the mechanics. The much-vaunted Jacques Nienaber blitz defence was shredded by Northampton Saints in that Champions Cup semi-final and Scarlets highlighted areas of concern again here. Leinster had to make only one-third as many tackles as Scarlets but they succeeded with only 65% of them. The evidence was apparent to the naked eye in the ease with which space and two scores were found for the first and third Scarlets tries. The theory goes that Leinster's dominance through the regular season might be working against them when push comes to shove and they are untested in terms of arm wrestles and jeopardy come the knockout stages. Cullen seems to buy into that. He picked out their last two league ties, against Zebre and Glasgow, when they had little or nothing to play for and compared it to the 'cup rugby' that Scarlets had been playing long before this quarter-final. 'Sometimes that creates a little bit of bad habits when you play games like that,' he said. Whatever about the vibes inside the dressing-room and on the field, the atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday spoke for the sense of drift that has enveloped the province with less than 13,000 punters paying in. The loss to the Saints has clearly fed into that, so did the Bank Holiday. Cullen also posited how supporters still need to get their heads, and their calendars, around a season that now stretches so far into June. Added into this is the fact that, regardless of concerns over the team's efforts, the expectation was that they would breeze past the Scarlets, that there would be another, bigger, day to tempt people to open their wallets. Cullen is mindful of all that, too, but he understands the need to rally the troops. 'It shouldn't be a drudge,' he said in trying to generate excitement for the semi-final to come and highlighting the danger posed by Glasgow. That said, he is not using a subdued crowd as reason for any struggles. 'No, no, no no. I don't want to use that at all. We played here in front of empty stadiums in Covid and I would much rather have what we had there [on Saturday]. In no way am I giving out here, in no way… 'We'll just keep beating the drum. We are asking supporters to come out here again next Saturday. It is short. We had a two-week lead-in and this is one week so it is more challenging again.' Glasgow are, lest we forget, reigning URC champions and they did it by beating Munster in Limerick in the last four and then overcoming the Bulls in Pretoria. Leinster beat them 52-0 in the last eight of Europe but only 13-5 in the URC earlier this month. The Irish province is still capable of routing an opponent, but liberal seeds of doubt have been sown deep into their psyche in recent weeks and if that Scarlets team can push them so close then Glasgow, Bulls and Sharks will be sniffing blood. 'It's a knockout game so what matters is just getting through,' said Cullen. 'People tend not to remember the detail as in what actually happens in these games. We just need to go through.' Leinster: H Keenan; J O'Brien, J Osborne, J Barrett, J Lowe; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, T Clarkson; J McCarthy, J Ryan; R Baird, J van der Flier, J Conan. Replacements: S Penny for van der Flier (29); D Sheehan for Kelleher and RG Snyman for Ryan (both 46); R Slimani for Clarkson (58); L McGrath for Gibson-Park and J Boyle for Porter (both 66); M Deegan for Conan (68) and Snyman (74); C Frawley for Keenan (75). Scarlets: B Murray; T Rogers, J Roberts, J Williams, E Mee; S Costelow, A Hughes; A Hepburn, R Elias, H Thomas; A Craig, S Lousi; V Fifita, J Macleod, T Plumtree. Replacements: M van der Merwe for Elias (51); K Mathias for Craig (58); I Lloyd for Costelow (59); M Page for Rogers and S Wainwright for Thomas (both 65); J Taylor for Hepburn (67); D Davis for Macleod and E Jones for Hughes (both 75). Referee: H Davidson (SRU).
