/”On Friday night, front-runners Leinster expanded their lead at the top of the URC Leinster league, surpassing the Bulls, their South African rivals in second place, 47 to 14. The night started with the Bulls at a four-point disadvantage, but following a decisive victory on home turf at the RDS, a crowd of 17,000 spectators witnessed Leinster’s commanding performance.
The Bulls kicked off the game strong – they were clearly prepared to compete. They had two successful scrums in the game’s opening, even earning a penalty from the first and an advantage from the second, suggesting that defending would be an arduous task for the hosts. But this did not come to pass.
Johan Goosen helped the Bulls get on the scoreboard first, scoring a penalty for 0-3, however, this only stirred the home supporters, who hoped the noise would inspire Leinster to perform. Jordan Larmour frequently had possession and made advances whenever he spotted a gap. But, after another scrum penalty, just 12 minutes in, referee Craig Evans found himself warning Leinster captain Luke McGrath and Ronan Kelleher.
Goosen scored again, this time a long-range penalty from just inside his own half, giving them a 0-6 lead.
Soon after though, Leinster found their rhythm, attacking with both vigour and precision. Larmour skillfully manoeuvred his way towards the centre, where he perfectly delivered the ball to Jamie Osborne, who found Josh van der Flier offering support.
Van der Flier ran the remaining 20 metres with the ball, daringly colliding into the post as he scored Leinster’s first try, bringing the scores to 7-6 following Harry Byrne’s successful conversion.
A mere ten minutes later, Leinster found themselves in a prime position yet again. This time, Byrne chose to kick to touch instead of claiming a simple penalty, earning warm approval from the crowd. Ross Molony successfully caught Kelleher’s throw, the team rallied around him, and ultimately fell across the line in the left corner. The ref had to search the pile-up to spot the grounded ball and Kelleher, marking the scores at 12-6.”/
Despite a vigorous start from the Bulls, the Leinster team showed no signs of intimidation. Goosen’s tactical manoeuvres weren’t enough to secure a win for the Bulls as Leinster stepped up their game with a sudden change of strategy. With Goosen rocketing through the field and Kurt Lee Arendse darting down the right, the Bulls initially took the lead. They saw their advantage surge when Luke McGrath was flagged with a yellow card for a contentious tackle on Arendse.
However, the Bulls’ lead was short-lived as the closing few minutes saw the tide turn. Kelleher’s illegal handling resulted in an easy kick for Goosen, narrowing down Leinster’s chasing score to 12-14 as McGrath sought medical attention.
Leinster’s tenacity was evident as they stepped onto the pitch in the second half. Early tries, initiated by a skilful pass from Joe McCarthy to James Lowe, altered the trajectory of the match. Lowe’s scramble down the right leading to an epic 45-minute score, and further tactical changes ushered in more points for Leinster.
Michael Milne’s entrance to the game soon led to another Leinster try, raising the score to 26-14. The Bulls fought back tenaciously, displaying sharp offensive moves, but it was Leinster, spearheaded by Larmour, Jack Conan and Osborne, who seemed to dominate the play.
Despite the unpredictable rhythm of the match, Leinster’s tactical decisions and defensive play ensured their victory. Crucial contributions came from Dan Sheehan and Jack Conan along with Liam Turner, with Sheehan making a memorable stride towards the right corner. The game was well into Leinster’s favour by then, with the team’s anticipation growing for the forthcoming encounter with Leicester in the Champions Cup.
In the match’s 6th minute J Goosen scored a penalty, giving the Bulls a 0-3 lead. This was further extended with another penalty from Goosen in the 13th minute, making it 0-6. However, at the 18-minute mark, J van der Flier scored a try and H Byrne successfully converted, swinging the score to 6-7. The 27th minute saw R Kelleher make a try, improving the score for Leinster to 12-6. The score at half-time was Leinster 12 Bulls 14 due to K Lee-Arendse’s try at the 36th minute and a Goosen penalty at the 40th.
The second half saw outstanding tries from J Lowe, M Milne, D Sheehan, J Conan, and L Turner with Byrne successful on conversions, resulting in a final score of Leinster marking up a victory at 47-14. L McGrath received a yellow card.
The final team lineups were:
Leinster: J Larmour, R Russell, R Henshaw, J Osborne, J Lowe, H Byrne, L McGrath (c), C Healy, R Kelleher, M Ala’alatoa, R Moloney, J McCrthy, R Baird, J van der Flier, J Conan. Substitutions were made with D Sheehan replacing Kelleher, M Milne for Healy, T Furlong for Ala’alatoa, J Jenkins for Moloney, J Gibson-Park for McGrath, L Turner for Henshaw, R Byrne for H Byrne, and C Doris for van der Flier.
Bulls: W Le Roux, K Lee Arendse, C Moodie, D Kriel, D Williams, J Goosen, E Papier, G Steencamp, A van der Merwe, W Louw, R Vermaak, R Nortje, M van Staden, E Louw, M Coetzee as team captain.
Substitutes: Van Staden was replaced by M Gumede in the 22nd minute. At 51 minutes, Williams made way for H Vorster, and van der Merwe was swapped for J Grobbelaar just a minute later. M Smith took over from Steencamp at the 52-minute mark. 62 minutes into the game, W Louw was replaced by S Matanzima, and similarly, R Vermaak was substituted by R Ludwig. At the 65-minute point, Z Burger stepped in for Papier, and Goosen was switched out for C Smith. The match officiator was C Evans from the WRU.