URC Grand Final: Leinster v Bulls - All you need to know

RTÉ News​

18 hours ago

After the Stormers, Munster and Glasgow Warriors all etched their names onto the BKT United Rugby Championship trophy in the last three years, there will be another new name joining them this weekend.
While Leinster have won the previous iterations of this competition eight times, they haven't done so since the arrival of the big four South African franchises in 2021.
For the Bulls, it's a case of third time lucky.
Jake White's side beat Leinster in the semi-finals in both 2022 and 2024, only to lose in the final on each occasion.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of this Saturday's final at Croke Park.
RADIO
There will be live commentary of Leinster v Bulls on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
ONLINE
There will be a live blog on www.rte.ie/sport for Leinster v Bulls, as well as match report and reaction.
TV
Leinster v Vodacom Bulls will be shown on TG4 and Premier Sports, with kick-off at 5pm.
The game can also be streamed on URC.tv.
WEATHER
It looks like Saturday will be a day of unpredictable weather conditions, with sunshine and showers forecast at various stages during the day, and temperatures around 15C.
PREVIEW/TEAMS
It speaks to the competitiveness of the URC that Leinster and the Bulls lead the way for the most wins in the competition (59 and 54) across the last four seasons, and yet neither have got their hands on the trophy.
While the Bulls have been to this stage twice before, this will be Leinster's first time in the final of the URC - in its current guise - having won the older versions of this championship eight times, most recently in 2021.
After three finals in South Africa, this will be the first time the URC has been decided on Irish soil. Don't get too swayed by home advantage though, in two of the last three finals the away team has taken the trophy.
The sides have met six times before, and the Bulls lead the head-to-head 4-2.
Their regular-season meetings have been evenly split with Leinster winning both in Dublin, and the Bulls victorious twice in Pretoria.
The difference has been in the play-offs, with the South Africans stunning Leinster at the RDS back in 2022, before winning at the same stage last season at Loftus Versfeld.
While cross-hemisphere wins have proven difficult in the last four years, the Bulls have adapted well. In April, their 16-13 win against Munster at Thomond Park made them the first and only South African team to win away from home at all four Irish provinces, while they have also beaten each of the Irish teams this season.
Their preparations this week have been aided by a better travel schedule, flying out from South Africa last Sunday to give themselves extra time to settle in Dublin.
While Leinster topped the regular season and have lost just twice in this campaign, the Bulls are probably the form side in the competition.
They've won eight games in a row in this competition, a run that started with their 21-20 win against Leinster in March, while they won away to both Munster and Glasgow in that period.
This will be Leinster's fifth time playing at Croke Park, and they have a 100% record in their previous four visits, defeating both Munster and Harlequins at GAA HQ this season.
Leo Cullen is without some key players for this weekend, with British and Irish Lions pair Hugo Keenan and Tadhg Furlong both out injured, while captain Caelan Doris is on the long-term list.
The province have been able to recall Josh van der Flier and Garry Ringrose after they missed the semi-final win against Glasgow.
Jordie Barrett starts in the centre and will play his 15th and final game for the province as his short-term deal comes to an end.
It will also be a final Leinster appearance off the bench for Gloucester-bound Ross Byrne, with the 30-year old set for his 186th game in blue.
The Bulls make just one change to their side, but it's a big one, with back row Cameron Hanekon ruled out with a knee injury, as Marco van Staden comes in at flanker, and Marcell Coetzee shifts across to cover Hanekom's absence at number 8.
Leinster: Jimmy O'Brien; Tommy O'Brien, Garry Ringrose, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan (capt).
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Jamie Osborne.
Bulls: Willie le Roux; Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Sebastian de Klerk; Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier; Jan-hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw; Cobus Wiese, JF van Heerden; Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje (capt), Marcell Coetzee.
Replacements: Akker van der Merwe, Alulutho Tshakweni, Mornay Smith, Jannes Kirsten, Nizaam Carr, Zak Burger, Keagan Johannes, Devon Williams.
WHAT THEY SAID
Leo Cullen (Leinster head coach): "I can't speak for the players specifically, but you want to go out and do your best on any given day and not look too much at the outcome. Unfortunately, the reality is once you get closer to something that's what people tend to look at and they can quite often trip themselves up.
So [ we are] making sure we focus on playing well, because that's the bit we can control, the outcome and some of the other variables, we can't control."
Jake White (Bulls head coach):"One of the messages I got to the players was one of the things about this competition is that you need to play your best rugby in the last three weeks, and we haven't managed to do that in the four years. We have managed to play really well over a period of time but we haven't managed to back up three performances in a row.That's the challenge for all these teams. You got to have your best guys out, they got to be playing their best and you've got to prepare them the best they can be for those last three Saturdays."
Bulls 21-20 Leinster, 22 Match 20025 (Loftus Versfeld)
Bulls 25-20 Leinster, 15 June 2024 (Loftus Versfeld)
Leinster 47-14 Bulls, 29 March 2024 (RDS)
Bulls 62-7 Leinster, 22 April 2023 (Loftus Versfeld)
Leinster 26-27 Bulls, 10 June 2022 (RDS)
Leinster 31-3 Bulls, 5 September 2021 (Aviva Stadium)