Imperious Leinster display puts Champions Cup disappointment firmly in rear view mirror
It took four years for Leinster to get their hands on silverware once more but the imperious manner in which they secured league title number nine on Saturday made it worth the wait for the 46,127 supporters inside GAA headquarters.
This was a comprehensive URC Grand Final defeat of the Bulls that had made light of any pre-match concerns that the South Africans were primed to claim the trophy themselves and end their own hoodoo in this competition.
The Champions Cup and European glory in the form of a fifth star on their jerseys may remain elusive, and their surprise semi-final defeat at home to Northampton Saints last month had given cause to believe that their 2024-25 season was on the brink of implosion.
A less than stellar URC quarter-final display in victory over the Scarlets two weeks prior had strengthened that belief but Leo Cullen's side had bounced back in style seven days later with a one-side defeat of Glasgow to book a home final, the URC's first in its four-year incarnation to feature the one and two seeds from the regular season.
Even the loss of influential scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park on the morning of the game did not derail Leinster, who could not have delivered a more emphatic statement of intent in the opening quarter as the rains fell on Croke Park and Bulls' hopes of winning a URC final at the third time of asking were all but extinguished.
Joe McCarthy, left, and James Ryan celebrate with the trophy. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
It was a near perfect first 20 minutes from Cullen's side, Leinster laying out their stall and striking the first psychological blow by winning collisions and earning a scrum penalty at the first engagement.
Most importantly they jumped out into a 14-0 lead without the Bulls laying a glove on them, the first from a five-metre lineout just six minutes in as Dan Sheehan struck from the back of a maul and captain Jack Conan finished from close range; the second a counter-attack from deep and straight up the guts that saw All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett pounce on his own kick ahead in the final game of his Dublin sabbatical.
A try on 22 minutes from Josh van der Flier and a late score from academy scrum-half Fintan Gunne sealed the deal and put the tin hat on a performance that finally ticked all the boxes for Leinster, physical dominance, four tries, a perfect send off for Barrett and the Gloucester-bound Ross Byrne.
For the Bulls there was only frustration. From the hand of centre Harold Vorster in the face and near to the eyes of a prone Joe McCarthy to the series of basic errors from double World Cup-winning full-back Willie le Roux, this was a day to forget for the South African powerhouse from Pretoria.
Their World Cup-winning former Springboks coach Jake White had been accused of mind games when he described Leinster as the benchmark for club rugby but the lesson taught to his side suggested he may have made a decent point after all.
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