The Bulls lost their third United Rugby Championship (URC) final last night and will reflect on a match in which they barely fired a shot.
Leinster made their maiden entry on the URC’s honours roll after just about emptying their chamber in the opening quarter of the game.
No 8 Jack Conan, inside-centre Jordie Barrett, loose head prop Andrew Porter and Ryan Baird played leading roles, while scrumhalf Luke McGrath did a sterling job in the jersey usually occupied by Jamison-Gibson Park.
The Bulls were outclassed by a team that beat them to the punch in all the facets in the opening quarter, even in those the visitors were expected to play a dominant hand.
It wasn’t just the scrum in which the Bulls failed to get a foothold in the game. They, frankly, looked out of sorts and at times out of their depth.
Depth, or lack thereof, has been a bugbear of Bulls director of rugby Jake White, who argues there should be a more concerted effort to keep South Africa’s talent inside its borders.
To be fair, the gulf between Leinster and the Bulls exposed fault lines that cut much deeper than the experience in personnel. Leinster, who had habitually come up short in knock-out matches over the last few years, this time broke the tape chest out.
They were in charge of the collisions, were more assertive at the ruck, scrummed with more authority, all while their kicking game heaped pressure on the Bulls. Not even the scrum, the area in which the Bulls have manhandled the opposition this season, brought them comfort in Dublin.
Leinster, the most proficient scorers after 22m entries in this season’s competition, was ruthless in the opening 22 minutes.
The near unthinkable presented Leinster an early opportunity when the Bulls conceded a scrum penalty. From the favourable field position, they earned another penalty and it was from that platform that captain Conan made his way over the tryline. He is clearly a man for the big occasion, having scored tries in two Pro Rugby finals, the forerunner to the URC.
The Bulls would be desperately disappointed with the way they conceded the second. They were found wanting from a chip over a midfield scrum that bounced favourably for Barrett, who hoofed the ball ahead with no Bulls defenders in sight.
Bulls captain Ruan Nortje lamented his team’s poor start. “Credit to Leinster. In the first 20 minutes, they got off to a flier,” he said.
That, they certainly did, and it was underlined by the try tear-away flank Josh van der Vlier scored in the 22nd minute.
When the Bulls did lay claim to the ball for an extended period after the half hour mark they were repelled by a blue wall of defenders. They were on red-hot attack but the team under Jacques Nienaber’s defensive tutelage held their lines.
Frustratingly, the Bulls’ siege was broken when fullback Willie le Roux attempted a cross kick that found a player clad in the home team’s blue.
The Bulls again went onto the attack but again Leinster stood firm, before Le Roux’s forward pass brought an end to the first half, with the visitors having drawn a blank before the break.
Leinster extended their lead through a Sam Prendergast penalty early in the second half but the Bulls gradually made their presence felt.
While scrumhalf Embrose Papier continued to be their most incisive player, the visitors also looked for inspiration from their bench. Replacement hooker Akker van der Merwe has been a livewire when he has stepped off the bench this season, and he again provided a spark, though all too fleetingly.
Van der Merwe touched down in familiar fashion, while Johan Goosen added the extras in the 50th minute.
It left the door ajar, just, and the hosts duly slammed it. Another Prendergast penalty edged the hosts further ahead before replacement Fintan Gunne put the issue well beyond doubt, leaving the Bulls with much to mull.
Scorers
Leinster (19) 32 - Tries: Jack Conan, Jordie Barrett, Josh van der Vlier, Fintan Gunne. Conversions: Sam Prendergast (2), Ross Byrne. Penalties: Prendergast (2).
Bulls (0) 7 - Try: Akker van der Merwe. Conversion: Johan Goosen.
