Pitch-perfect Prendergast points the way for Leinster
Captain Caelan Doris lifts the URC trophy along with departing legends, James Lowe and Luke McGrath. Photo: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
For the second year in a row, the Bulls travelled to Dublin to face Leinster in the BKT United Rugby Championship Grand Final. And for the second year in a row, Leinster were streets ahead, cruising to a 29-point victory in front of 39,184 at Croke Park.
The victory means Leinster are the first team to reach ten URC titles and the first team to win it back-to-back since the four South African clubs joined the competition.
Sam Prendergast delivered a Player of the Match performance as Leo Cullen’s men completed the all-South African gauntlet, beating the Lions, the Stormers and now the Bulls one after another on their way to retaining their crown.
The Bulls may be the traditional powerhouse of South African, but they have proven themselves to be perennial nearly-men in the URC, showing a kind of white-line fever in final after final after final that can only be compared to Leinster in the Champions Cup.
Three-time Super Rugby Champions – the only South African side to lift that trophy – the Bulls have now reached the URC Grand Final in four of the last five years, losing each time.
Despite boasting a starting XV that included 11 test-cap Springboks and another two on the bench (both props), the men from Pretoria never got going; and while they will feel aggrieved by one or two decisions by the officials, in truth Leinster never looked in any danger of losing this final.
The Bulls lost Canan Moodie to the sin bin in the very first minute, with Tommy O’Brien crossing for a try five minutes later. It came with an almighty cost, however, as Leinster lost captain Caelan Doris to an ankle injury in the process.
All Black Rieko Ioane pounced for a second try after quarter of an hour, before the Bulls lost another man to the sin bin, again for a deliberate knock-on, this time Willie Le Roux. Leinster punished them with an immediate try from Jack Conan, as a second conversion from Prendergast plus a penalty made it 22-0 after half an hour.
Prendergast continued to impress after the restart, scoring and converting a try in the early stages of the second half. The Suncroft native played 70 minutes before being replaced by Harry Byrne, in a wonderful performance that saw him score 14 points, boss his team around the field in style, and even make a handful of vital defensive interventions – perhaps turning a corner in that department.
The third deliberate knock-on offence resulted in a yellow card for James Lowe on the hour mark, with the Bulls scoring a converted try in his absence. This was the winger’s final game for Leinster and it was only appropriate that he got a winning send-off.
The second half ended as it began, with the Leinster fly half - this time Byrne - converting his own try to make it 36-7 and solidify Leo Cullen’s men as the back-to-back domestic champions.
