Leinster see off Ulster after costly Stockdale error
Jacob Stockdale’s try-scoring blunder will haunt Ulster and the winger after defending champions Leinster came from behind to win a gruelling all-Irish Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final 21-18 at a packed Aviva Stadium.
The joint-leading try scorer from the pool stages with six, Stockdale crucially lost control of the ball past the try-line early in the second half, and despite Luke Marshall’s subsequent try bringing them level, the Ulstermen fell short thanks to Ross Byrne’s 71st-minute penalty a dominant final 41 phases of possession rugby from the hosts.
A surprise result looked a possibility when Kieran Treadwell and Byrne, who deputised at fly-half for the injured Jonathan Sexton, swapped tries inside the opening 10 minutes.
Despite losing captain Rory Best to an early ankle injury, John Cooney’s eight points from the tee had Dan McFarland’s underdogs 13-11 ahead at half-time.
It was a tale of two wingers when Stockdale agonisingly dropped the ball from his grasp, and a subsequent Leinster attack sent Adam Byrne over for a momentum-shifting 53rd-minute score.
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They had to show huge resilience in the end, coming through the setback of Dan Leavy’s horrific knee injury and Marshall’s levelling five-pointer to settle the issue through Byrne’s reliable right boot.
Playing European knockout rugby for the first time since 2014, Ulster tore out of the blocks.
They were led by the talismanic Best, who had an early turnover and then charged down Garry Ringrose’s kick close to the Leinster posts, the loose ball gleefully touched down by lock Treadwell for a converted try with just five minutes gone.
Ringrose redeemed himself with some clever footwork as wind-backed Leinster ominously advanced through 25 pulsating phases, at the end of which Sexton’s deputy Byrne crossed out wide despite Robert Baloucoune’s tackle.
Full-back Jordan Larmour’s evasive running was a feature of the build-up, although Byrne’s missed conversion kept the Ulstermen in front.
The 23-year-old Dubliner missed a central 41-metre penalty in the 18th minute, soon after Best’s worrying injury for both province and country.
Cooney rewarded a fine aerial take by Stockdale and a meaty Marcell Coetzee carry with three points, while Leinster fluffed their lines in response, Sean Cronin bursting up towards the 22 but then overthrowing the resulting lineout.
Leinster’s accuracy returned on the half-hour mark when Byrne split the posts and then a scrum penalty soon allowed the fly-half to briefly nudge the hosts ahead for the first time.
He almost teed up a try for Dave Kearney before that, connecting with the winger from a cross-field kick but Baloucoune saved Ulster’s bacon. Michael Lowry and Billy Burns added zip to a late Ulster attack which Cooney topped off with three more points.
Leinster had two big let-offs early on the resumption, the ball going dead after Ringrose was charged down again, and then Stockdale did all the hard work in brilliantly surging clear down the left touchline but he lost control of the ball as he stooped to score under pressure from Kearney. It was an individual error which Stockdale and Ulster were left to rue.
Leo Cullen’s men lifted the tempo decisively, Cronin threatening more in the loose albeit that Cooney foiled a promising first wave.
Seizing his chance, Jack Conan then cut straight through from a ruck to offload for the trailing Adam Byrne to finish off from the right wing. The extras were added by Ross Byrne, establishing a five-point cushion with both benches increasingly busy in this bruising repeat of the 2012 final.
The luckless Leavy had to be stretched off just as Ulster turned down a kickable penalty. Their directness was rewarded as they went through 11 phases off a lineout and an excellent delayed pass from Stuart McCloskey opened up an avenue for Burns to put Marshall crashing over to the right of the posts. The pressure got to the usually cool Cooney who curled his conversion wide at 18-all.
Both sides were really emptying the tank down the final stretch, the Leinster pack using their maul to eke out a penalty on the right wing and Byrne, who had been struggling with cramp, stood up to the task to slot over what proved to be the match-winning kick.
Showing their experience, the title holders owned the ball for the remainder, relying on their pick-and-go game to confirm their qualification for an Easter weekend semi-final against either Racing 92 or Toulouse.
PA
Comments on RugbyPass
No 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!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 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.
9 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.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 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?
9 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?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to comments