How Bulls prepped Leinster for visiting Stormers
SPOTLIGHT: Fresh off a dominant 59-10 United Rugby Championship quarterfinal win over the Lions, Leinster now turn their attention to the “different kettle of fish” Stormers in their upcoming home semifinal in Dublin.
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In the first season of the URC (involving the top four South African franchises) in 2022, Leinster looked set to defend their (Pro 14) title, which they won the year before, against Munster after finishing on top of the table.
Then Jake White’s Bulls arrived at the RDS arena for the semifinal, causing one of the biggest, if not the biggest upsets that season to defeat the Irish powerhouse by 27-26 and book their spot in the Final against local rivals, the Stormers.
The Bulls’ approach was one of being confrontational and physical, something the Stormers possess in their arsenal as well, to nullify Leinster’s attacking threats and trick plays.
Leinster lock James Ryan recalls that shock defeat four years ago and acknowledged that the team will take those lessons from that loss and apply them to the Stormers this Saturday.
“It’s just having awareness that we bounced back and did well a few years back, now at this point.
“We had a good win against Glasgow, and then the Bulls come up the following weekend, and we’re probably not at the races,” recalls second rower Ryan.
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Ryan had heaps of praise for John Dobson’s team and singled out two players whom he identified as big threats.
“We probably acknowledged that today around how important it is just to keep getting better now, because the Lions are a good side, but the Stormers are a different kettle of fish coming up, they will fancy themselves.
“They’re a serious squad. They have serious depth there, so they’ve appeared in every knockout [clash], I think, so far, so they have to fancy themselves.
“Evan Roos, who we have to look out for as well, at the moment he’s the top scorer in the URC this season [12 tries], he seems to be the guy on the end of a lot of their attacks as well.
“He’s playing well, definitely one of their main ball-carriers; Ben-Jason Dixon is another one, so they’re very strong up front.
The veteran second rower also stated that their defensive effort will have to be top-notch, given the Stormers’ attack-minded brand of rugby.
“They have a nice brand of rugby, they do like to play, so I think defensively our connection is going to be massive this week.
“We know when it comes to finals, you’ve got to be at your best.”
Additional reporting by: @RTÉ
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