JUST TOO GOOD!
Leinster steamroll Ulster at the Aviva to win their third Pro14 crown in a row
JOHNNY who? There was much chat this week about Leo Cullen’s decision to bench his captain for the biggest game (so far) of the season. In some quarters, it was seen as a sign of disrespect to Ulster and the tournament as a whole. Cullen could just nod in the direction of Ross Byrne when those barbs were being thrown about.
Sexton’s understudy guided Leinster to a hat-trick of titles last night with his usual calm authority.
It was pretty much job done when Byrne left the field on the hour mark, with Cullen’s men holding a commanding 20-5 lead.
Joe Schmidt’s decision to leave him at home before last year’s World Cup in Japan remains a mystifying call.
Byrne was just one cog in this relentless blue-clad machine. From Cian Healy smashing back Ulster tacklers at will to the relentless physicality of Caelan Doris or the energy of James Lowe, they were simply a class above their provincial rivals, again.
They welcome Saracens here next Saturday for a European quarterfinal and they will be heavy favourites to secure that title as well. When the ‘new’ season begins in October, a ‘double double’ could well be on the cards. We’re into dynasty territory now.
Leinster arrived at the Aviva as overwhelming favourites, a tag they wear with ease. The task facing Ulster had been laid bare all week. The visitors would be seeking to derail an all-conquering province on an unbeaten run of 24 games — stretching back to May of last year — who were seeking an unprecedented hat-trick of Pro14 titles.
Only last month, Ulster arrived here fully-loaded and were second best for most of the evening against Leinster’s shadow side.
For all the talk about Sexton and Byrne, neither were in the matchday squad for that 28-10 victory — a mark of the quality flowing throughout this squad. Leo Cullen has used 53 players throughout this truncated campaign and there are few customers in that operation who are below Test quality.
And there was the sobering statistic of Ulster’s record in the capital: one win in 20 visits.
Taking all that account, the Blues had every right to feel confident about this assignment.
‘Confident, but not cocky’ as Jack Conan told the TV cameras before the game. The memories of that battle in the European quarter-final last year remains fresh in the memory. Ulster were underdogs that night as well but they brought the fire and took Leinster all the way. A late Byrne penalty sealed a hardfought win and Leinster have not forgotten about the problems which Coetzee, McCloskey and Stockdale caused that night.
Those lessons were learned. Ulster came flying out of the traps again last night with McCloskey making the initial bust with a rampaging run down the right touchline. Some quick hands from Alan O’Connor and Alby Mathewson sent James Hume into space and the young Ulster centre showed great pace to race past Lowe and ride Hugh Keenan’s try for a brilliant score.
Leinster looked a little rattled early on. led by Marcell Coetzee — their granite-like Springbok — in defence, Leinster’s big runners were getting smashed back on that invisible gain-line. Leinster are a superb team but all great teams make mistakes when they’re put under pressure and Jamison Gibson-Park and Byrne were forced into some early errors.
It didn’t take long for the champions to find their groove, however. They soon started rolling through their trademark recycling game with relentless carriers and cleanouts. Lowe applied the finish but it was a big charge from Caelan Doris which set the platform. Byrne’s conversion nudged Leinster back into a 7-5 lead. It was eerily quiet in the stands, but everything occurring on the pitch screamed cup final intensity. A breakdown turnover won by Doris — a player who seems to have everything — in the 23rd minute felt like a big moment.
The penalties began to rack up for Ulster, with Byrne converting one such transgression to make it 10-5. Leinster had problems too, especially their lineout which was not functioning at all.
They’ll need to tighten that up
before Maro Itoje and Saracens rock up here next Saturday.
When Conan got caught on the wrong side of the ruck, Andrew Brace reached for his whistle. It looked like an easy three points but Billy Burns chose to probe the touchline and set up an attacking lineout. You could only admire the ambition but the execution was lacking as Hume fumbled a stray pass, letting Leinster off the hook. Just five points separated the sides at the break and that felt about right.
Dan McFarland and his team would have been making positive noses in the sheds at half-time but the game was taken away from them in a flash.
Another Byrne penalty was a blow before Robbie Henshaw plucked Burns’ pass to race away for what felt like the killer score.
Later, Doris made the win, the title and the perfect season safe when he powered through a pair of weary Ulster tacklers to score under the posts. Invincibles? It’s hard to argue with that title these days. leInster: J Larmour; H Keenan, G Ringrose (capt) (R O’Loughlin 68), R Henshaw, J Lowe; R Byrne (J Sexton 60), J Gibson-Park (L McGrath 60); C Healy (E Byrne 53), R Kelleher (J Tracy 60), A Porter (M Bent 63); D Toner, J Ryan (S Fardy 64); C Doris, J van der Flier (W Connors 73), J Conan. sCorers - tries: Lowe, Henshaw, Doris. Cons: Byrne
(2), Sexton. Pens: Byrne (2). ulster: M Lowry; R Lyttle, J Hume, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; B Burns (I Madigan 55), A Mathewson (J Cooney 49); E O’Sullivan (J McGrath 49), R Herring (J Andrew 21-35), T O’Toole (M Moore 56); A O’Connor, I Henderson (capt) (S Carter 49); M Rea (J Murphy 56), S Reidt, M Coetzee (N Timoney 49)/ sCorers - try: Hume. reFeree: A Brace (Ireland).