Latest news with #URCFinal
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Leinster primed and ready to take the Bulls by the horns in URC final
Leo Cullen is reasonably optimistic that Josh van der Flier and Garry Ringrose will be back in the selection mix as Leinster seek to win their first trophy in four seasons when they face the Bulls in the URC final at Croke Park next Saturday (kick-off 5pm). The Lions duo missed last Saturday's convincing 37-19 semi-final win over last season's champions Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva Stadium due to hamstring and knee issues. 'Josh will be top of the list, I'd say,' said Cullen with regard to the list of players ruled out of the semi-final, with Ringrose 'up near the top' according to the Leinster head coach. By contrast, the other missing Lions, Hugo Keenan and Tadhg Furlong, were both 'somewhere in the middle', whereas 'Will Connors and Brian Deeney [are] definitely at the bottom. Robbie [Henshaw] is down near the bottom as well. There's probably a pecking order there. Garry and Josh [are] probably the two favourites.' READ MORE Despite the unfavourable kick-off time, an attendance of 15,762 was an improvement on the previous week – just that it was a little lost in the Aviva Stadium, whereas had the game been in the RDS it would have been more of an occasion. As the seasons have finished later in recent years, June has been a challenging month for ticket sales but, encouragingly, the first tranche of 12,000 tickets for next Saturday's heavyweight rumble with the Bulls have already been snapped up by Leinster's season ticket holders. The 10 per cent early bird discount which enabled supporters to register for a 24-hour presale window expired at 9am on Monday, before general sale from 10am, with ticket prices starting at €20. Leinster secured home advantage by topping the regular-season table, with the Bulls in second place, thus leading to the first-ever final at the home of the GAA and Ireland's most iconic sporting arena. The game will be broadcast live on TG4 and on Premier Sports. [ Matt Williams: Unless Leinster's defence wake up they will be left dreaming of what might have been Opens in new window ] Captaining the side on the season's run-in, Jack Conan admitted it would be 'unbelievably special' to win the URC at Croke Park. 'I think we've relished every opportunity to run out there in the last few years, starting with Northampton last year and Munster and Harlequins this year, so the history and the iconic nature of that stadium isn't lost on us. We want to do right by that and be at our best again.' Leinster's Andrew Porter, Jack Conan and James Ryan wrap up a Glasgow player at the URC semi-final match in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho By dint of topping the table by eight points ahead of the Bulls, Cullen was grateful that he and his squad have a final in Dublin and do not have to travel to take the long trek to South Africa, as was the case when the sides met in last season's semi-final. 'You're sitting in the dressingroom in Loftus and heading back to the bloody hotel,' he recalled. 'It's the end of the season, watch that Glasgow-Munster game. What do you do? It's grim, beyond belief. 'What can we control now? We'll control having a really good week and enjoying it. 'I've been lucky to be involved in Leinster and other teams for a long time and there are so many great days, but you it's not like you cling to those days where you won a trophy, it's the day-to-day that I love. 'I love the process of getting ready for a game; that's what excites me. I love getting out of bed in the morning and coming into work ... because it's not work. 'So, we'll give our best and when next week is over and we're dealing with the fallout, good, bad or indifferent, it's over. What can we control now? We can get excited about next week and that's what I love. 'I love the process, I love the people we work with. There was a good few family in the dressing-room, it's magic. Win, lose or draw, we deal with the consequences.'
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Everyone loves to hate Leinster. It drives us on'
McCarthy is one of 12 Leinster players in the British and Irish Lions squad [Getty Images] Joe McCarthy says "everyone loves to hate Leinster" and admitted the team are using the perceived ill will as fuel in their quest for silverware after they hammered Glasgow to reach the United Rugby Championship final. Leinster beat last year's champions 37-19 at Aviva Stadium on Saturday to set up a decider against South African side Bulls at Croke Park next week. Advertisement The Irish province have had a point to prove after being stunned at home by Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals as they aim to avoid a fourth consecutive season without a trophy. "We know everyone loves to hate Leinster. That definitely drives us on," lock McCarthy told RTE after the Glasgow game. "We've a great fanbase. We don't really care about the outside noise, what you guys [the media] or other people say. "We're going to rip into next week. It'll be a tough team we're playing so there's no shortage of motivation." McCarthy, 24, and several of his Leinster team-mates will hope to finish the season with a trophy against the Bulls on Saturday (17:00 BST) before linking up with the British and Irish Lions squad. Advertisement "We definitely needed that, it's our first URC final [in the competition's current iteration],"added McCarthy, who started all 11 of Ireland's Test matches in 2024. "It's massive for us. We need the fans behind us now, we're into Croke Park. "It's exactly where we want to be, it's a great buzz. There's always pressure, we've never reached a URC final. "We've disappointment this year already so we want to finish strong and get the fans back on our side."
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Everyone loves to hate Leinster. It drives us on'
Joe McCarthy says "everyone loves to hate Leinster" and admitted the team are using the perceived ill will as fuel in their quest for silverware after they hammered Glasgow to reach the United Rugby Championship final. Leinster beat last year's champions 37-19 at Aviva Stadium on Saturday to set up a decider against South African side Bulls at Croke Park next week. The Irish province have had a point to prove after being stunned at home by Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals as they aim to avoid a fourth consecutive season without a trophy."We know everyone loves to hate Leinster. That definitely drives us on," lock McCarthy told RTE after the Glasgow game."We've a great fanbase. We don't really care about the outside noise, what you guys [the media] or other people say. "We're going to rip into next week. It'll be a tough team we're playing so there's no shortage of motivation."McCarthy, 24, and several of his Leinster team-mates will hope to finish the season with a trophy against the Bulls on Saturday (17:00 BST) before linking up with the British and Irish Lions squad."We definitely needed that, it's our first URC final [in the competition's current iteration],"added McCarthy, who started all 11 of Ireland's Test matches in 2024."It's massive for us. We need the fans behind us now, we're into Croke Park."It's exactly where we want to be, it's a great buzz. There's always pressure, we've never reached a URC final."We've disappointment this year already so we want to finish strong and get the fans back on our side."
