Leinster 'silenced a few critics' with URC win
Leinster captain Jack Conan said that winning the United Rugby Championship helped his side to "silence a few critics".Leo Cullen's team won the competition for the first time since 2021 and the ninth time overall after a comfortable 32-7 victory against the Bulls at Croke Park.And Conan was pleased with the final win after Leinster's recent shortcomings in European deciders."Definitely feeling a bit of relief, just so delighted for everyone who has put in so much work the last few years," he told TG4."I'm glad we showed up and performed and were able to silence a few critics."Conan, who will now link up with the British and Irish Lions for their summer tour, revelled in winning the title at the GAA headquarters and in front of a crowd as Leinster's last URC triumph four years ago was behind closed doors due to Covid."It's incredibly special and not something you dream of growing up or even in the last few years it's been a while since we played here," he added in the post-match press conference.Leinster led 19-0 at half-time and Conan believes the strong defensive effort to shutout the Bulls after racing into the lead helped his side over the line in the second half."To hold them out at half-time, credit to the lads for putting their heads in where you wouldn't put a shovel, the mental lift that gave us was huge," he continued."Before the game we spoke about taking it moment by moment and not getting ahead of ourselves. We knew it was going to be unbelievably physical and there was no point focusing on the bigger picture, but we dealt really with how direct they were."I'm delighted for the lads that they have performed."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
Edinburgh prop Venter earns surprise Springboks call-up
Edinburgh loosehead Boan Venter has earned a surprise South Africa call-up in a blow to Scotland's hopes of capping the born and raised in South Africa, signed for Edinburgh from Cheetahs in 2021 and is due to become Scottish qualified in February 2026 on residency has previously spoken about his desire to play for Scotland, external and follow in the footsteps of fellow South African-born props Pierre Schoeman and WP Nel. However, Venter has now been selected in a 45-man squad as the Springboks prepare for a clash with the Barbarians on 28 June, before Tests against Italy and Georgia next month."Boan has been consistent for Edinburgh in the URC and the Challenge Cup, and he is familiar with the South African structures after playing for the Cheetahs and coming through our junior ranks, so we are looking forward to seeing him in action on the field," South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus said.A Scottish Rugby directive to have fewer foreign players in professional club squads has led to Henco Venter and Sebastian Cancelliere leaving Glasgow in recent weeks.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
'Like Ireland v Bulls' - depth key to Leinster's URC win
Leinster's strength in depth has long been the envy of many squads in the United Rugby Championship and it once again came to the fore in Saturday's final win against the missing three injured Lions in the form of Tadhg Furlong, Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson-Park, the Irish province still fielded an incredible nine players who will travel to Australia with Andy Farrell's squad. Garry Ringrose, Josh van der Flier, James Lowe, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan and Jack Conan all started while Ronan Kelleher came off the bench in the comfortable 32-7 victory against the Bulls in Dublin to end the province's four-year trophy also had another eight players that will be part of Paul O'Connell's Ireland squad for this summer's tests against Georgia and in All Black Jordie Barrett, Springbok RG Snyman and French international Rabah Slimani and that means that young scrum half Fintan Gunne was the only uncapped player in the match-day squad. 'They only had 22 internationals!' Bulls head coach Jake White was typically dry in his post-match press conference when addressing the quality that his opposite number Cullen could call upon. "I said during the week that Leinster would have 23 internationals, but it wasn't quite so bad, they only had 22!" he joked."I have said repeatedly that it is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. "We have plenty of experienced players, but we finished the game with eight non-internationals and Leo is able to throw on the likes of RG Snyman for a run-around. It is like Ireland v the Bulls out there."Two of Leinster's four tries were scored by Irish stalwarts turned Lions, with captain Conan getting the first and back row partner van der Flier the third. Barrett's beautifully improvised effort was sandwiched between the two as Leinster blitzed the South Africans in the opening 22 minutes, before shutting them out at half-time and going on to pick up a comfortable win after Gunne's late try. Fitness scares and good performances in mixed bag for Lions contingent Those on 'Lions watch' would have been concerned with the late withdrawal of Gibson-Park but Cullen was upbeat about the scrum half's fitness."Jamison picked up a bit of a knock on his glute in last week's semi-final and he just couldn't shake it off. It's nothing too serious so he'll be ok for the Lions," he row Ryan appeared to be limping slightly clutching the bottom of his back when he was substituted two minutes after the did reappear at full-time to join his teammates in collecting their medals and Cullen was also upbeat about his health."James certainly looked alright celebrating in the dressing room!"There is less than a week until the Lions kick off their summer adventure with a warm-up game at the Aviva Stadium against much game time the Leinster players get against the Pumas remains to be seen but they will certainly bring with them an air of positivity when they join the camp. Cullen is looking forward to a summer spent watching his charges on the world stage."A big part of what we do here is player development, so we are very proud of all the boys heading away this summer. "They have all earned it and I'm looking forward to keeping a keen eye on them when they are away."While Cullen and the Leinster staff can put their feet up for a couple of months, the show goes on for a large chunk of his talented squad and they will be hoping they can bring their success in blue to red and green respectively.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Tackling build costs is the real game-changer
C ompromise rules was the name originally given to a game concocted in the 1980s by the powers-that-be in Australian rules football and the GAA. Its invention facilitated a long-haul jolly every couple of years for blazers, players and the media. Ireland travelled to Australia, then the Aussies came up here. Now known as international rules, and returning this year after an eight-year hiatus, it is a makey-uppy mash-up of two sports that invariably ends in a punch-up. Great entertainment. The government's updated regime of rent controls, unveiled last week, is a type of compromise rules. It attempts to temper roaring rent inflation and at the same time reinvigorate stagnant residential property investment. It was never going to please all, and led to an inevitable ideological dust-up in the Dail and on the airwaves. With a few wrinkles ironed out, it is at least a stab at a model of rent regulation. In the current febrile political atmosphere, however, all that really matters is whether the initiative results in more housing, or more importantly lower rents. Neither is likely.
