The Bulls were unable to recover from a very poor first-half performance, and ended up losing five tries to one.
Leinster beat the Bulls at Croke Park in a second consecutive final. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images
The Bulls lost their fourth URC final in five years after falling 36-7 to Leinster at the same venue where they were beaten 32-7 by the Irish side in last year’s final.
Two yellow cards and a slew of errors – some caused by Leinster’s pressure-building intensity, and many of their own doing – saw the Bulls having a mountain to climb at 22-0 down at Croke Park, Dublin, at half-time on Friday night.
While the Pretoria side rallied from 21-3 down to win their semi-final against Glasgow Warriors in Edinburgh, they were unable to lift their game enough to get over the line, scoring just one try and conceding two more tries to add to the three in the first half.
The Bulls will rue the fact that some of their most experienced players made the worst mistakes.
Springboks Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux earned yellow cards for deliberate knock-ons while Bok ace Handré Pollard dropped a ball to give Leinster their first score, and his kick for touch from a penalty went dead in their final attack in the first half.
While the Bulls were good in the scrum, they only won their first scrum penalty just before half-time. They also lost three lineouts in the first half, and threw one skew.
They should have scored their first try in the 55th minute but referee Andrea Piardi ruled it had been held up, though replays showed Harold Vorster had grounded the ball on the try line. Another Ruan Nortjé try was disallowed, though the call for a forward pass in the build-up was marginal.
Leinster dominate first half
The Bulls started poorly when Canan Moodie received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on in the second minute.
The Bulls held back the ensuing Leinster attack, and forced a turnover. But Handré Pollard dropped a pass that was snatched up by wing Tommy O’Brien, who ran more than half the length of the field to score a converted try for the hosts in the sixth minute.
Rieko Ioane scored Leinster’s second try in the 16th minute after Jamison Gibson-Park took a quick throw-in and Hugo Keenan found a gap before offloading to Ioane.
A Stravinho Jacobs grubber nearly led to a Bulls score, but Same Prendergast covered well under pressure. Two Leinster lineout steals saw the Bulls pushed back to their own try line, and Willie le Roux carried the ball back to make a forced touch. After a few drives, Leinster were held up.
Willie le Roux received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on in the 26th minute and Jack Conan scored Leinster’s third try after a few drives a minute later. A Prendergast penalty gave the hosts a 22-0 lead after 31 minutes.
The Bulls finally won a scrum penalty just before half-time. However, Pollard’s kick for touch went dead and the game went to half-time.
Bulls improve in second half
Prendergast dived through a gap to score Leinster’s fourth try in the 46th minute. The Bulls were held up after 55 minutes, though replays showed Harold Vorster had grounded on the line.
Leinster’s James Lowe earned a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. The Bulls finally scored their first try when Moodie dashed through a gap following a lineout in the 63rd minute.
The Bulls then appeared to create a beautiful try with a quick throw-in and offloads from Canan Moodie and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, before Ruan Nortjé dove over in the 68th minute. But the TMO called Piardi’s attention to Moodie’s offload, which he deemed to be forward, though it was marginal.
The Bulls defended well in the final quarter. But Harry Byrne eventually crashed over for Leinster’s fifth try.
Scorers
Bulls: Tries – Canan Moodie. Conversions – Handré Pollard 1/1.
Leinster: Tries – Tommy O’Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jack Conan, Sam Prendergast, Harry Byrne. Conversions – Sam Prendergast 3/4, Harry Byrne 1/1. Penalties – Prendergast 1/1.
