Andy Farrell is already trying to plug holes in his Lions squad with so many players unavailable
Andy Farrell will have been buoyed by the return to form of so many of his Lions in Leinster's victory over Glasgow Warriors on Saturday, but their progression means he has a bit of a headache as he gathers the remnants of his squad in Portugal today.
Leinster's presence in the URC final rules 12 of the squad out, while Bath and Leicester Tigers' Premiership final date means Finn Russell, Will Stuart and Ollie Chessum can't travel and Blair Kinghorn is tied up with Toulouse who are preparing for a Top 14 semi-final on June 20.
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Irish Times
35 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Will Leinster's siege mentality help them win the URC?
After weeks of consistent (yet fair) criticism, Leinster turned in a performance to silence the critics. At least for now, their ultimate test for this season still to come. A convincing win against Glasgow showed a side touching top form again while offering a window into their unusual 'us against the world' mentality. What to make of it all? Gordon D'Arcy and Nathan Johns discuss on today's episode of The Counter Ruck. Will Leinster disappoint in another final? What does D'Arcy think are the mental improvements for a side with all the talent in the world? Are Leinster back at their best?
The 42
an hour ago
- The 42
Can Leinster take that final step and end their trophy wait?
JAKE WHITE DIDN'T HANG around in pointing out that the Bulls are underdogs for this Saturday. The South Africans arrived in Ireland yesterday, happily embracing the fact that Leinster are favourites. 'We have to travel to play an international team,' is how White put it before they left Pretoria. 'It's going to be tough. It's going to be like Ireland versus the Bulls.' For effect, the experienced head coach told the South African media that the Bulls needed a higher power on their side. 'Prayer… prayer is what we need,' he said. 'I don't say this lightly. We need prayer.' White clearly hadn't thought all of this through as he said the Bulls had earned 'a lotto ticket' by reaching the final, but that they had a '50% chance of winning' in Croke Park. We'd love to get in on that kind of lottery. Privately, he will be reminding his Bulls players of their fine record against Leinster. They beat the Irish province in the URC semi-finals in 2022 and 2024, the first of those in Dublin. Advertisement They've also won against Leinster in two regular-season games in Pretoria, albeit those took place without most of the Ireland internationals that White was alluding to in his preview of Saturday's final. Still, the Bulls haven't been a good match-up for Leinster since joining the URC. Their power in contact, varied kicking, destructive scrummaging, pace out wide, and sprinkling of creativity from the likes of Willie le Roux mean they're a formidable outfit. As with any good South African team, their pursuit of success will begin with a focus on the set-piece. Like Leinster, the Bulls have yet to win the URC. Unlike Leinster, they've already been in two finals. White's men lost to the Stormers in Cape Town in 2022, then at home to Glasgow in last season's decider. They're certainly not an unbeatable force, but they will take some beating. It seems unlikely that the Bulls will be overpowered in the same manner that Glasgow were last weekend. Leinster deserve credit for dominating their Scottish semi-final opposition, but the South Africans are unlikely to be as meek. Ross Byrne and Garry Ringrose after last season's semi-final in Pretoria. Steve Haag Sports / Christiaan Kotze/INPHO Steve Haag Sports / Christiaan Kotze/INPHO / Christiaan Kotze/INPHO Leinster are viewed as 10-point favourites by some bookies. They have been fancied in finals before, of course. They have plenty of doubters at the moment. Many commentators feared that Glasgow would do a job on them last weekend. The vicious physical edge to Leinster's performance and the increased accuracy probably settled many of their supporters' nerves but the job is not complete. Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber's side will surely need to deliver something even better this weekend. The doubts and worries around Leinster stem from their recent history. They have ultimately come up short under intense pressure since winning their most recent trophy in an empty RDS in 2021. 'I think you do acknowledge all of them and what is the honest truth and facts about them,' said attack coach Tyler Bleyendaal of how Leinster have addressed their past. 'The Bulls, we haven't played well against them in the last five outings. Finals, we haven't performed in the finals to the grand final level in the past. We've acknowledged it, but we've also got a fresh opportunity which we have been talking about. 'We're excited for the opportunity. We understand what we are playing for. Then there is just trust that we're all aligned and the players are going to go and perform well.' So now the question is whether Leinster will perform to a grand final level. There were encouraging signs last weekend and the likelihood is that if the home team play close to their potential, they will be too good for the Bulls. Nienaber will want the best defensive performance of the season, Robin McBryde will hope to see Leinster's set-piece excel, Seán O'Brien will demand violence at the breakdown, and Bleyendaal is keen for the attack to fire again. Yet Bleyendaal highlighted that finals can often be 'scrappy.' The real key to getting over the line seems to be whether Leinster handle the big moments well. That wasn't the case in their recent Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton, when it appeared that the pressure left them inaccurate and led to some overthinking. Leinster head coach Leo Cullen. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO The weight of the world sometimes seems to be on Leinster when they play big games like this one, so it wasn't surprising to hear Cullen talking about how important it is that they enjoy their work this week. Bleyendaal always comes across as a relaxed figure in the set-up. There don't tend to be many smiles when the broadcasters show us the Leinster coaching box, but the Kiwi coach often seems to be enjoying games as they unfold. 'I feel like I'm pretty level throughout the week, throughout the match and the messages I give,' said Bleyendaal. 'I think it's probably a good, balanced coaching group in that regard.' Leinster need a nice balance of calm heads and a vicious edge this weekend. A blend of red heads and blue heads.
The 42
an hour ago
- The 42
'I thought Sam played a good match... he's his harshest critic.'
LEINSTER ATTACK COACH Tyler Bleyendaal has backed out-half Sam Prendergast to continue driving the team from the number 10 shirt and bounce back from a frustrating goal-kicking display in the URC semi-final. 22-year-old Prendergast has established himself as Leinster's first-choice out-half this season, starting all of their knock-out games, and is expected to continue in that role for this weekend's URC final against the Bulls in Croke Park. Prendergast missed a few tackles in the semi-final win over Glasgow and was also inaccurate off the tee with five missed shots at goal. The Kildare man contributed some strong kicking from hand, as well as guiding Leinster towards a six-try haul in their 37-19 victory. Those are the kind of qualities that Bleyendaal focused on as he backed Prendergast. 'I actually thought Sam on the weekend played a good match,' said Bleyendaal ahead of the URC decider against the Bulls. 'His goal-kicking maybe was one skill error, but the way he led the team around, I thought, was great. The stats showed that we played well and we applied a lot of pressure and I think a lot of that is from Sam's leadership on the field. 'He is probably one of his harshest critics, it's getting him back into the plan for this week, take the learnings. He has been engaged and he's looking to get a plan in place along with the other game drivers. Advertisement 'I'm enjoying Sam and how he operates and I'm sure he's still learning, but he's a competitor.' Prendergast at Leinster training yesterday. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO Prendergast has played 23 times for Leinster and Ireland this season, with only six of those appearances coming in the URC regular season. The majority of his games have come on higher-profile, higher-stakes occasions. That has led to fears in some quarters that Prendergast has been pushed into prominent positions with Ireland and Leinster too soon, but Bleyendaal doesn't agree. 'I don't think there's any ill effects, I think he's getting through the season fine,' said Bleyendaal. 'I don't look at him and think he's getting beaten up or he's slowing down. I feel like he turns up every week, he's got good energy and he's young, I think he recovers well. 'The pleasing thing to see is that he puts in the work during the week and he goes out and backs himself on the weekend.' 35-year-old Bleyendaal is a former out-half who captained the New Zealand U20s before breaking into the Canterbury and Crusaders set-up as a youngster, so he understands some of the pressures Prendergast is now facing. He also appreciates how goal-kicking accuracy can sometimes desert the players tasked with that job. 'Jeez, being a kicker myself and sometimes you have a bad day,' said Bleyendaal. 'Sometimes you have a rubbish warm-up, a great game. Sometimes you have a great warm-up, a rubbish game. But he was back to work today kicking a lot of balls. As far as I'm aware, he wasn't kicking yesterday, but you never know, he might have been at home nudging a few. Prendergast had a frustrating day off the tee. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO 'Like I said, he puts in the work, prepares well. He's his harshest critic, but he's got a great work-rate. This week is another week. He's enjoying engaging with the planning of the week and putting in his own skill development as well.' Prendergast has taken over from the experienced Ross Byrne as Leinster's first-choice number 10 this season, with the latter set for a move to English club Gloucester this summer. Byrne is one of a number of players that Leinster hope to send off with a winner's medal this weekend. 'There's Ross, there's Church [Cian Healy], there's a lot of people in there who have played their last game, are playing their last game and are moving on, management as well,' said Bleyendaal. 'There's a lot of people at this club who have been here longer than I have who have experienced lows and a lot of success, this is our opportunity to try and perform well, get another trophy and send them off well.'
