URC Grand Final: Four decisive factors in Bulls vs Leinster battle

The South African

19 hours ago

The Bulls and Leinster will have everything to play for when they meet at Croke Park in a historic United Rugby Championship (URC) Grand Final on Saturday, 14 June.
Kick-off is at 18:00 (SA time).
The Bulls beat the Sharks 25-13 in a thrilling semi-final clash at Loftus Versfeld.
Leinster, meanwhile, dethroned defending champions Glasgow 37-19 with a dominant display in their final-four outing at the Aviva Stadium.
We look at the factors that could determine who walks away as new winners of the URC.
The Bulls will contest their third URC final in four seasons on Saturday. For Leinster, it will be their first final appearance in the competition's current format after coming short in their last three semi-finals.
So, both teams have a hoodoo to break.
The play-off and league-stage archives of the last four seasons probably allow some debate in terms of which side is more deserving of donning the perpetual bridesmaid sash. While this will be Jake White's crew's third final, the Irish juggernaut have finished at the top of the standings at the conclusion of the league stage in three of the four seasons. The trophy, however, evades them both.
The Pretoria team would certainly have hoped for more than runners-up medals after their previous two Grand-Final berths. Leinster's choking, on the other hand, has become a signature of the province. They have nothing but four Irish Shields to show for their dominance.
Be that as it may, whoever overcomes their final-hurdle demons will be crowned the new URC kings.
The Bulls have every reason to be cocky when it comes to their pack, and Leinster cannot contest that statement.
Leinster experienced their fair share of trouble at the scrum in their last encounter with the Bulls. The latter of course made yet another statement when they manhandled a Sharks unit featuring World Cup-winners Ox nche, Bongi Mbonambi, and Vincent Koch.
The Bulls' strong foundation can certainly set them up for success (they have won 94% of their scrums compared to Leinster's 89% and have won a total of 46 penalties at the set-piece compared to Leinster's 40 ), especially if they manage to nullify Leinster's pack and play from set-piece to set-piece. But it doesn't end there.
Given both sides' tendency to kick from hand, it's an area that'll be an intense battle. Leinster and the Bulls are first and second with kicks from hand (571 to 560). With kicks retained, they rank second and fourth, respectively (86 to 78). The teams are third and second in the 'tries from kicks' columns (Leinster five, Bulls six).
Looking at the attacking numbers, Leinster boast the most points (612) and tries (89) scored. They are also second in the offloads-made category (237), and third when it comes to metres gained (7861). The Bulls, on the other hand, are second with points (609) and tries scored (80).
Rugby isn't played on history pages. But the fact that the Bulls have some experience in terms of making a URC final certainly doesn't hurt.
The sides have gone head-to-head six times. The Bulls have come out on top in four of those meetings. One of them was a historic semi-final in Dublin back in 2022 when they became the first South African side to win in Ireland.
The Bulls will be hoping to make history again and win the first URC final hosted outside of South Africa. Leinster, meanwhile, will aim to deny the Bulls another historic feat on the Emerald Isle.
Will the Bulls do enough to win the first URC Grand Final staged in Europe? Can they show the same kind of determination they did in their semi-final, overcoming three yellow cards to beat the Sharks? Will the visitors be mentally switched-on and disciplined enough to prevent themselves from getting into those kinds of situations in the first place? Can they go the full 80 and side-step those dips in performance that have plagued them at times in the past?
There are no shortage of questions the South Africans will need to answer come the ultimate contest. But the same goes for Leinster.
The biggest question facing Leinster, perhaps, is whether they will go all the way and secure the title now that they are solely focused on the URC Grand Final.
This is the first time since the inception of the URC that the Dubliners won't be playing in the Champions Cup final. Will they be able to handle that pressure and expectation with the advantage of a home final? Can they survive relentless pressure from the Bulls' pack and keep it together to negate it with their own flair?
There are many questions. But one thing that cannot be questioned is the importance the mental factor will play on Saturday.
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