Cape Town – Just seven of the Leinster starting XV have more than 20 caps, but the Bulls won’t be fooled by such a statistic in today’s United Rugby Championship clash at Loftus Versfeld (4pm kickoff).
Leinster, having long qualified for the quarter-finals and secured top spot on the log, have the luxury of keeping their best players fresh for next weekend’s Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse in Dublin – and even head coach Leo Cullen has returned home this week after watching a depleted side pull off a last-gasp 39-36 win over the Lions at Ellis Park.
That is the kind of depth Leinster possess, and it’s something the Bulls would love to emulate in future.
“It’s the envy of any club team to see what they produce. We often speak about the school systems that they have in Ireland, and there’s good coaching. Then they go into the academy, and get good coaching there,” director of rugby Jake White said yesterday.
“All four franchises have done really well this year, and the integration with international players… If you look at the signings they’ve made, whether it’s a Duane Vermeulen, Marcell Coetzee, Jason Jenkins, RG Snyman – there’s definitely a thought process into how they can use the skills of outside players to upskill their own players, and the weaknesses they have in their four regions.
“Again, that’s probably very good work done by David Nucifora (the Irish Rugby Football Union performance director) and the system.
“A lot of the psychology and backing those guys get through the academy must say something in terms of the way they are coming through, both on and off the field.”
While that’s a discussion for another day, the Bulls are coming off their own big win, having dispatched Zebre 78-12 last weekend in Johannesburg, which saw White pick an unchanged match-23 yesterday.
Having experienced a forgettable 10-match losing streak across all competitions recently, the 11-try display was the shot in the arm that the Pretoria needed just before the URC playoffs.
White felt that the performance “proved that we now understand the way we want to play”, but he knows it won’t be so easy against a Leinster side that will be highly competitive this afternoon.
Openside flank Marco van Staden will have his hands full in trying to slow down Leinster’s possession at the breakdowns, as they will pursue their ball-in-hand style with relish.
But similarly, the home side must take the game to the opposition through their own ball-carriers such as Elrigh Louw and Cyle Brink upfront, as well as unleash lethal backs such as Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie.
“One thing they are very good at in every game is playing quickly, and I don’t think that they are going to change their style,” the former Springbok coach said.
“I don’t think the altitude factor will hit them as hard as it did last week, because there’s always that scientific debate about either you come one day or 10 days before the game, and they’ve been here long enough to be used to the altitude.
“Someone told me last week that Ellis Park is higher than Loftus, so maybe it helped them training in Johannesburg last week.
“We need to do our basics properly and play as well as we can. That same (Leinster) team drew with the Stormers, so that just shows you how good they are.
“The Stormers are the champions and when they played that same side – and the Stormers took their strongest side – that Leinster team was almost the same and drew 22-22. So, we are not thinking anything other than it’s going to be a tough game.”
The Bulls have already secured a URC quarter-final spot, but where they end up on the final log will be determined by a few other results this weekend.
But most importantly, they simply have to win to claim Champions Cup qualification for next season.
Teams For Loftus Versfeld
Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse 14 Canan Moodie 13 Stedman Gans 12 Harold Vorster 11 David Kriel 10 Johan Goosen 9 Embrose Papier 8 Elrigh Louw 7 Cyle Brink 6 Marco van Staden 5 Ruan Nortjé (captain) 4 Ruan Vermaak 3 Mornay Smith 2 Johan Grobbelaar 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 16 Bismarck du Plessis 17 Dylan Smith 18 Francois Klopper 19 Janko Swanepoel 20 WJ Steenkamp 21 Keagan Johannes 22 Chris Smith 23 Cornal Hendricks.
Leinster: 15 Chris Cosgrave 14 Tommy O’Brien 13 Liam Turner 12 Ben Brownlee 11 Dave Kearney 10 Sam Prendergast 9 Nick McCarthy 8 Max Deegan 7 Will Connors 6 James Culhane 5 Brian Deeny 4 Alex Soroka 3 Thomas Clarkson 2 Tadgh McElroy 1 Ed Byrne (captain).
Bench: 16 Lee Barron 17 Michael Milne 18 Temi Lasisi 19 Conor O’Tighearnaigh 20 Liam Molony 21 Ben Murphy 22 Charlie Tector 23 Rob Russell.
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