Leinster successfully defended their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title with a deserved 36-7 victory (half-time 22-0) over an uncharacteristic hapless Vodacom Bulls side in the Grand Final at Croke Park in Dublin on Friday evening.
While the Irish giants saved their best for last, the same can't be said for the visitors from Pretoria, who were strangely lethargic in the first half. Silly errors not only handed points on a plate to their hosts but also gave Leinster the big early lead they wanted as the Vodacom Bulls lost their fourth Grand Final in five seasons.
Two first-half yellow cards for deliberate knockdowns, to Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux, cost the Vodacom Bulls two tries as Leinster cleverly exploited space out wide, while the Irish province also disrupted the men from Pretoria's lineout.
An early yellow card to Canan Moodie for a deliberate knock-on was not what the doctor ordered; however, the Bulls absorbed the pressure and were building an attack until the Bulls dropped a ball, which Leinster toed ahead, with Tommy O’Brien eventually cruising over for an easy try. Sam Prendergast converted to extend Leinster’s lead to 07-00.
After 15 minutes of play, several missed tackles on Hugo Keenan allowed him to put Rieko Ioane away to score Leinster’s second try in the match to extend their lead to 12-00.
Leinster continued their dominance, and after 25 minutes of play, Willie le Roux was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. Leinster launcehd wave after wave of attacks following the penalty and eventualy Jack Conan bulldozed his way over for Leinster’s 3rd try. Predergast converted to extend Leinster’s lead to 19-00.
Sam Predergast converted a penalty with ten minutes to play in the first half, extending Leinster’s lead to 22-00, which was the half-time score.
Leinster continued their dominance in the second half, setting up camp in the Bulls’ red zone. Sam Predergast sniped from the back of a ruck to score Leinster’s fourth try after six minutes of play. Sam Predergast also converted to extend Leinster’s lead to 29-00.
The Bulls started to claw their way back into the game on the back of their dominating scrum and following a yellow card to Leinster, Canan Moodie scored the Bulls' first try after the ball was spread wide from the resulting lineout maul. Pollard converted to cut Leinster’s lead to 29-07 with 17 minutes to play in the second half.
However, Leinster once again upped the pace of their attack and, following several attempts to cross the Bulls tryline, Harry Byrne forced his way over to score Leinster’s fifth try. Byrne converted the try to secure a well-deserved 36-07 win for Leinster.
Scorers:
Leinster Rugby: Tries: Tommy O’Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jack Conan, Sam Prendergast, Harry Byrne. Conversions: Sam Prendergast (3), Harry Byrne. Penalty: Sam Prendergast.
Vodacom Bulls: Try: Canan Moodie. Conversion: Handre Pollard.
Teams
Leinster Rugby: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Jerry Cahir. Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Alex Usanov, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Garry Ringrose
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Jeandre Rudolph, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Nizaam Carr.