Ex-Ulster talisman Ruan Pienaar has word of advice for Dan McFarland's PRO14 final team
Ex-Ulster talisman Ruan Pienaar is hoping his old club can pull off a Guinness PRO14 surprise on Saturday by defeating Leinster in an all-Ireland final of the five-nation league.
Now at the Cheetahs following a post-Ulster Top 14 stint at Montpellier, the South African is fully aware of the task facing the club he represented 141 times, including the 2013 decider where he scored all of Ulster’s points in their 24-18 defeat at the RDS.
That game took place in front of a sold-out 19,200 attendance and while Saturday’s renewal seven years later will happen behind closed doors at Aviva Stadium due to pandemic restrictions, Pienaar has fingers crossed the result will see Ulster lift their first trophy in 14 years.
“Ulster last won the competition in 2006, and we were in the final in 2013 where we lost against Leinster. For a small place like Belfast it is a massive achievement,” he said.
“The club has a great tradition and is always in the semi-finals and they will know what they have to do. Facing a team like Leinster isn’t easy because they have won so much and have been in these situations for so many times and know how to react.
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“But a final is anyone’s game. It takes one wrong bounce and it can go any way. I’m excited to watch the game and really hope Ulster can give Leinster a real go this weekend.”
Ulster will take confidence not only from the manner of their semi-final comeback win away to Edinburgh last year but from how they played under coach Dan McFarland when they faced Leinster at the Aviva in the Champions Cup quarter-finals in March 2019, a contest that was only lost by three points in a shootout coming down the finishing straight.
“It’s a massive achievement for Ulster to make the final,” continued Pienaar. “Watching last weekend’s semi-final, they were in a bit of trouble at half-time, but they showed a lot of character and fight to come back and win the game at the end.
“I’m still a massive supporter of Ulster and always want them to do well. I’m overjoyed to see them in the final, but it will be difficult to beat Leinster, who will definitely arrive as favourites for the final. But as we have seen in the past, anything can happen in a final. Ulster will need to be at their best.
“Dan will prepare them well for the week and they will have a definitive plan to try and take them on. Last year in the Champions Cup quarter-finals, they really took Leinster on and eventually just lost by two or three points if my memory serves me correctly.
“Ulster play them on a regular basis and they know Leinster’s strengths and weaknesses well. So if there is a team that can give them a go, it is Ulster. From my side, I really hope so but they will need to be at their best,” enthused Pienaar, who had this advice for his old club’s current players.
“Don’t let the occasion get the better of you. Obviously, there won’t be a crowd, so you will need to generate your own energy for the game. They are good enough and they know Leinster well enough to know where to strike. They will have a good plan from their coaching staff. They need to enjoy the occasion and the result will sort it out. I’m looking forward to seeing them and hoping that they do well.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments