Three-try Leinster seal PRO14 title hat-trick
In the end it turned out as expected, Leinster galloping to the glory of yet another Guinness PRO14 title, beating Ulster 27-5 in the behind closed doors Aviva Stadium decider. Tries from James Lowe, Robbie Henshaw and Caelan Doris made all the difference, reinforcing how the collection of silverware at this level is very much a habit.
You either have it or you don’t and with Leinster’s cabinet greedily bulging with ten trophies coming into this latest final since Ulster last lifted a pot 14 years ago, fracturing this concrete-set pattern was always going to be an uphill assignment for a visiting team that had lost its two restart derbies in August and then needed a last-gasp penalty to win a semi at Edinburgh.
It wasn’t the sort of form line that would have weighed on the mind too much of a favourite that hadn’t lost a match 16 months and come the finish there was no upset result, only the sight of Leinster comfortably securing league bragging rights for the sixth time in 13 seasons and rounding off a PRO14 campaign that had begun 50 weeks ago with a win at Benetton.
This latest triumph also clinched an unprecedented title hat-trick, setting them up sweetly to go on and exact revenge next Saturday on Saracens in the Champions Cup quarter-finals following their May 2019 defeat in the Newcastle European final against the Londoners.
Ulster have their own Euro hurdle to clear, a trip to Toulouse, and they will go there knowing that any repeat of the errors they coughed up in Dublin will see them on the receiving end of another largish defeat.
Unbeatable. Undefeated. Unreal.@leinsterrugby lift the trophy for the 7??th time ?
Who’s been the most instrumental player in helping them get their hands on it this season?#GuinnessPRO14 #LEIvULS pic.twitter.com/5wnXaaHh5n
— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) September 12, 2020
Leinster were by no means immaculate, their first-half error count giving Ulster the sniff that was the slender five-point margin that existed between the teams at the break. But they had all the nous to see this triumph out without any of the drama that had been witnessed in the early exchanges.
After an eerie countdown, the silence of the empty stadium rather unsettling given how the recent two finals packed a combined 93,000 in for showpieces in Glasgow and Dublin, the game’s opening was explosive, Ulster ahead with a smashing try created from spilt Leinster ball on halfway.
It was beautiful counter-attacking, the northerners probing right with a meaty Stuart McCloskey carry before going back the other way, lock Alan O’Connor executing a sweet pop to allow James Hume arc stylishly around Ronan Kelleher and into open country.
When the rearguard did arrive, he casually stepped Lowe and had too much gas for the late intervention of Hugo Keenan, Hume diving for the line with just 230 seconds on the clock.
Leinster, who also began sloppily in the ugly semi win over Munster, continued to make errors before eventually managing to build momentum-changing pressure. Off a penalty advantage at the try line, Jamison Gibson-Park fired a powerful pass that eluded Robert Lyttle to get Lowe in at the corner for the score neatly converted by Byrne for a two-point lead.
That riposte didn’t fix Leinster. Take the play that happened after Rob Herring went for a 21st minute HIA. Their own lineout was lost and then they were unconvincing in the air after Ulster sent up a bomb. Doris defused the threat, though, at the breakdown and a sequence of three quick penalties in a row ended with Byrne on target from in front of the posts.
Porter was next to do a Doris, foraging combatively at the breakdown and winning a pressure-relieving penalty after Ulster had kicked to the corner and tried to wrangle an opening from close range. A pass from Billy Burns that wasn’t firm enough for Hume to grasp was their next major setback in the 22 and they even went on to concede a penalty at the restart scrum, misfortunes that left them trailing 10-5 at the break.
That gap increased to eight points four minutes after the restart, Byrne applying the punishment off the tee after Sean Reidy had clattered Garry Ringrose off the ball. And it swiftly got worse, Burns feeling the heat of suffocating Leinster line speed epitomised all night by the energy of the excellent Josh van der Flier.
JAMES HUME TAKE A BOW ?
The @UlsterRugby centre slices straight through the @leinsterrugby defence and goes all the way ?
?? Watch Live Now on @PremierSportsTV
?? Watch Live Now on @eirSport & @SportTG4
?? Watch Live Now on @SuperSportTV#GuinnessPRO14 #LEIvULS pic.twitter.com/hY8vsfhsqg— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) September 12, 2020
Burns tossed an ill-advised pass into the mitts of Henshaw on halfway, cheaply giving him an uninterrupted run to the line, and Byrne added the extras for 20-5.
Ulster’s response was to unload a bench top-heavy with former Leinster players in the hope of conjuring an even greater escape than a week previous at Murrayfield, but that cavalry got them nowhere as Leinster responded in kind, the likes of the benched Johnny Sexton introduced to calmly see out the deserved 22-point win capped by a try from Doris eight minutes from time.
LEINSTER: 15. Jordan Larmour; 14. Hugo Keenan, 13. Garry Ringrose (Rory O’Loughlin, 68), 12. Robbie Henshaw, 11. James Lowe; 10. Ross Byrne (Johnny Sexton, 60), 9. Jamison Gibson-Park (L McGrath, 60); 1. Cian Healy (Ed Byrne, 53), 2. Ronan Kelleher (James Tracy, 60), 3. Andrew Porter (Michael Bent, 64), 4. Devin Toner, 5. James Ryan (Scott Fardy, 64), 6. Caelan Doris, 7. Josh van der Flier (Will Connors 72), 8. Jack Conan.
Scorers – Tries: Lowe (13), Henshaw (46), Doris (72). Con: Byrne (15, 47), Sexton (73). Pens: Byrne (26, 45)
ULSTER: 15. Michael Lowry; 14. Rob Lyttle, 13. James Hume, 12. Stuart McCloskey, 11. Jacob Stockdale; 10. Billy Burns (Ian Madigan, 55), 9. Alby Mathewson (John Cooney, 48); 1. Eric O’Sullivan (Jack McGrath, 48), 2. Rob Herring (John Andrew 21-35), 3. Tom O’Toole (Marty Moore, 56), 4. Alan O’Connor, 5. Iain Henderson (Sam Carter, 48), 6. Matthew Rea (Jordi Murphy, 56), 7. Sean Reidy, 8. Marcell Coetzee (Nick Timoney, 48).
Scorer – Try: Hume (4)
And that’s how to respond ?@JamisonGPark spins it wide to @JamesLowe_03 who has an easy walk in as @leinsterrugby hit back… GAME ON ?
?? Watch Live Now on @PremierSportsTV
?? Watch Live Now on @eirSport & @SportTG4
?? Watch Live Now on @SuperSportTV#GuinnessPRO14 #LEIvULS pic.twitter.com/N6Q33mLjSD— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) September 12, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments