Leinster vs Bulls preview: Evenly poised matchup takes Grand Final stage

Once again, the home of the GAA opens its doors to the Grand Final of the United Rugby Championship as the 82,300-capacity stronghold hosts last years grand finalists Leinster and Vodacom Bulls.

With both teams so evenly matched with both having lost six but won fourteen games, the Bulls edging Leinster with 91 tries to 88 and Leinster returning the favour with a total of 63 points to the Bulls 59, the Friday night clash under the lights will undoubtably be the best game of the URC season.

With the Glasgow Warriors shock loss to the Bulls the week before, Leinster won the battle for home final due to climbing to second place on the table after a turbulent start to the season in which the players mixed both international duties and the Champions Cup tournament as well as the URC.

Due to a visiting Metallica however the Aviva Stadium was unavailable for the Grand Final so after a much-needed down week for both teams, tomorrow Croke Park throws the doors wide open again.

Bridesmaids

Both teams have used the time well. The Bulls decided to head back to South Africa as apposed to staying in the Northen Hemisphere for a fortnight and arrived in Dublin earlier in the week and are eager to shift the tag of “serial bridesmaids.”

The Bulls have featured in four finals and failed to get over the line each time in the URC however with a fierce looking pack and electric talent all over the field these “bridesmaids” are undoubtably the biggest challenge yet in the URC for Leinster.

Leinster approach this final from a different angle and perspective compared to last year.

With the sudden loss of RG Snyman halfway through the season along with another Champions Cup Final loss and finally and somewhat controversially the loss of four key players; James Lowe, Ciaran Frawley, Rabah Slimani and Luke McGrath.

With the departure of Lowe and Frawley it has widely been agreed did neither of the two Irish internationals got the justice they deserved seeing as James Lowe’s contract was not enough to keep the New Zealand born winger on Irish shores and he will depart for Japan at the end of the season.

As for Ciaran, the clutch-kicker to draw the series in South Africa, Frawley feels he has not had enough game time at Fly-half with Leinster so has signed with Connacht under old mentor Stuart Lancaster at the end of the season. This decision possibly is the reason why he has not been selected in Friday’s Grand Final.

Revenge

Andrew Porter will miss the game and the Ireland summer tour due to injury however has a servant to Leinster and Irish rugby whilst any injury is never a good thing the time off may be exactly what the stalwart prop needs at this time of the season.

These events are out of the player’s control however may prove to be the vital fuel needed to overpower the revenge seeking Bulls.

In my opinion, few teams have to fight on as many fronts as Leinster, be it international duties of Champions Cup, so along with mixed duties and injuries there is usually something going on during these clutch matches and more often than not they find a way to get over the line.

Very few games have Leinster not had an injury concern or splitting the duties of the players and yet when we come to this end of the season, we regularly see Leinster climb to a new level and silence the doubters.

They are a team built for high pressure games and despite there being scrum concerns with the lack of Porter and the Bulls phenomenal pack, Leinster are used to swapping players in and out on a regular basis and the players always seem to fit the gameplan admirably.

Come Friday Leinster will have a score to settle themselves, they will want to honour the players leaving the club and finish the season on a high as they attempt to defend what is theirs.  

With Croke park filling up day by day Friday night promises to be a star-studded game with a real tightness between the two best teams in the United Rugby Championship.

READ MORE: Leinster vs Bulls: James Lowe leaves with parting tribute to club