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Forwards-dominated all-Irish contest goes the way of Leinster

By PA
(Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Leinster are the last Irish province standing in the Heineken Champions Cup after handing Ulster a 30-15 last-16 defeat at the Aviva Stadium. A closely-fought first half ended 16-8 in Leinster’s favour, with Ross Byrne converting Ryan Baird’s 20th-minute try and kicking three penalties. James Hume touched down for Ulster to add to a Nathan Doak penalty.

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The difficult wet conditions made for a forwards-dominated contest, with repeated team penalties landing Hume in the sin bin before Jamison Gibson-Park sniped over for a 54th-minute try. Rob Herring hit back for Ulster with a big maul score, but Andrew Porter burrowed over in the 63rd minute to seal a home quarter-final for Leinster against Leicester next Friday.

A rare handling error from Hugo Keenan gave Ulster some early traction, and Doak punished a Byrne offside with an opening 10th-minute penalty. The Leinster fly-half levelled barely a minute later, with the keenly-contested aerial battle seeing Keenan and Jordan Larmour come to the fore.

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The hosts ended the opening quarter with a 10-3 lead, Ulster initially keeping their maul at bay before Baird came around the corner to beat David McCann and stretch out of Rory Sutherland’s tackle to score. With the conversion and a cracking long-range penalty, Byrne put 10 points between the sides but Ulster halved the deficit in brilliant fashion with 26 minutes gone.

Jacob Stockdale gave them momentum by collecting his own kick at pace, Burns then kicking wide to Hume who had acres of space before stepping inside James Lowe’s tackle to cross in the right corner.

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Doak’s missed conversion was followed by a penalty miss from Byrne, who was back on target in the 37th minute. Ulster were happy to see him go for the posts after a Jack Conan try was disallowed for a knock-on. A promising lineout opportunity for Ulster early in the second period was spoiled by a James Ryan steal. Referee Luke Pearce then lost his patience with the visitors infringing near their own line when Hume was binned for no clear release.

Although a prolonged Leinster attack broke down, Gibson-Park scooped up a grounded ball and evaded both Stockdale and Stuart McCloskey to scamper in under the posts. Byrne’s extras made it 23-8.

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Ulster’s maul has been a massive weapon this season, and a well-executed drive put Herring over for replacement John Cooney to convert. However, Porter had support from Tadhg Furlong as he restored Leinster’s two-score lead, getting the grounding after Jimmy O’Brien had been held up minutes earlier by McCloskey.

Ulster were unable to get back within scoring range late on, their hopes effectively ended by the replacement Harry Sheridan’s yellow card for a high tackle on Byrne.

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Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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