Cape Town - Leinster are on a 23-man unbeaten run this season across the Champions Cup and United Rugby Championship, but can the Bulls stop the Irish giants in Saturday’s clash at Loftus Versfeld?
In normal circumstances, you wouldn’t think so – even for a 4pm kickoff in Pretoria – as the Dubliners boast almost the entire Ireland national team in their squad and are virtually unplayable most days in the URC.
But one of those days was of course last year’s semi-final at the RDS Arena, when Jake White’s team pulled off a miracle 27-26 victory after travelling from South Africa.
That was against a full-strength Leinster outfit, but on Saturday, the situation is a bit different.
The major factor is that the Irish province have left their first-choice players at home to prepare for next weekend’s blockbuster Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium.
But the mix of reserves and academy players produced a monumental late rally to come from 36-21 behind with 20 minutes left to clinch a 39-36 victory over the Lions at Ellis Park last Saturday.
So, there’s no doubt that even the weakened Leinster will be seriously competitive against the Bulls.
But are the stars aligning for White’s team to emulate their Dublin effort? Firstly, Leinster coach Leo Cullen travelled back home after the Lions game to help prepare the first-choice side for the Champions Cup semi-final.
The rest of his senior coaches, such as Stuart Lancaster, Andrew Goodman, Robin McBryde and Emmet Farrell, did not even make it to South Africa at all.
Now, former Test flank Sean O’Brien – who is the contact skills coach – has taken charge of Leinster for the Bulls match, and he is being assisted by academy manager Simon Broughton and Ireland Under-20 scrum coach Aaron Dundon, who is also an elite player development officer at the club.
In addition, veteran loose forward Rhys Ruddock, who normally captains the Leinster second-string side, is out of the Bulls match due to a hamstring injury he sustained against the Lions, while Georgian tighthead prop Vakhtang Abdaladze may not feature due to a neck injury.
Most importantly, the Bulls have so much more to play for than their opponents. They recently ended a 10-match losing streak across all competitions by beating Griquas in the Currie Cup two weeks ago, and ended their four-game URC winless run by destroying Zebre 78-12 last Saturday.
Even though they weren’t at their absolute best, the Bulls still scored 11 tries and will have taken real confidence out of such an emphatic margin of victory.
Yet, despite already reaching the quarter-finals, captain Ruan Nortjé and his team still have to secure Champions Cup qualification, which will only be finalised at the conclusion of the Challenge Cup competition.
There are several other scenarios that are possible in that regard, but the point is that the Bulls must do their job and beat Leinster, which would take them to 52 points and secure at least seventh place and entry into the Champions Cup.
What may have pleased White the most from the Zebre game is the improved performances from halfbacks Embrose Papier and Johan Goosen, while the pack flourished in the set-pieces and collisions, where No 8 Elrigh Louw made 17 carries – the most by any player in Round 17 – and the likes of prop Gerhard Steenekamp, hooker Johan Grobbelaar and lock Ruan Vermaak were prominent.
So, that kind of momentum should provide the necessary composure needed in Saturday’s high-stakes game (4pm kickoff).
@AshfakMohamed