So what everyone thought was impossible was proven to be possible after all and Northampton Saints have left Leinster with just the Vodacom United Rugby Championship to play for in their quest for much needed silverware.
There was an obvious spur for the South African teams with URC title ambitions in the sense that the Saints’ 37-34 win over Leinster in their Investec Champions Cup semifinal in Dublin proved that Leinster are not invincible. Of course, the Vodacom Bulls might have figured that out already, for they have beaten the Irish team twice in URC semifinals - home last year and away in 2022.
But the Hollywoodbets Sharks backline Springboks and the DHL Stormers as a whole with all their X-factor players and dangerous attacking game might have been excused if they saw a potential opening for them in a potential future meeting with the log leaders when Jacques Nienaber’s defence leaked five tries, most of them in a first half where Saints appeared to be able to cut the Leinster line at will.
Yet a reality check is needed before everyone gets carried away and starts assuming a Leinster demise. Firstly, when the Bulls won those two semifinals Leinster had just come off Champions Cup final disappointments and the shadow of those games loomed large. The Leinster prop Andrew Porter summed up his team’s attitude when he said last week that it is the stars on the jersey signifying European success he and his teammates think of as the pinnacle of success and none of them define success by the number of URC titles won.
DUBLIN TEAM WILL BE PROPERLY FOCUSED THIS TIME
That though was before the loss to Northampton, which has left Leinster in the rare situation of having a bye on the weekend of the Champions Cup final. Which means they have time to re-set before the Finals Series starts whereas in the past they have gone straight into it off the European final.
Leinster need some kind of trophy to validate the success that has gone unrewarded over the past four seasons. Because Leinster have been successful if you consider the decider in Cardiff later in May is the first of four Champions Cup finals to be played in the URC era that they won’t be part of. They lost all three finals late in the game and by narrow margins, which was the case in the Dublin semifinal at the weekend too.
In that time they have also won the URC log three times out of four, which does mark them as the strongest URC team even if they haven’t yet even played in let alone won a URC final. If you disagree with that contention then imagine if Liverpool, who comfortably won the Premier League in the round ball game, now had to play in a playoff series against teams that finished way below them. It’s a ridiculous thought.
What Leinster have now is a singular focus and no doubt also an anger at having let it slip against Northampton that, once the abject disappointment of yet another Champions Cup disappointment has subsided, should motivate them through the remaining month and a bit of the season.
HELPS THE BULLS’ QUEST FOR SECOND
As discussed in Friday’s preview, Leinster’s exit from the Champions Cup does help the Bulls, who are depending on a Leinster win over Glasgow in the final URC league game in their quest for a second placed log finish. That game takes place a week before the Champions Cup final and Leinster would have gone in understrength but now they have no reason to.
In fact, given the lesson they should have learned this weekend, going in understrength against Glasgow should be the last thing they consider doing as then there would be too many off weeks for the first rank players before they play again. It did look suspiciously like the Saints profited from Leinster not being battle hardened at the AVIVA Stadium.
But the Bulls, who are themselves desperate for the validation of a trophy, will also acknowledge that while their goal of finishing second may have come closer because of Northampton’s shock win, the Leinster hurdle when it arrives has just become a whole lot harder to get over.
SA TEAMS AIM FOR MAXIMUM POINTS
The final two rounds see the South African teams playing all their games at home and against Welsh teams. The Bulls and Emirates Lions, with the latter still in with a very slight chance of making the top eight, both have to rely on a bit of outside help to achieve their different objectives, but for all four local teams the mission should be the same - they need to get maximum points out of their remaining fixtures.
Cardiff aren’t fifth on the log by being a poor team so they need to be treated with respect as they visit Pretoria this week and Cape Town the week after, the Ospreys have won in South Africa before, and Scarlets, who play the Sharks and Lions, recently beat Leinster. However, if the local sides bring their A game there is no reason they shouldn’t hit target and register bonus point wins.
When it comes to needing outside help, both the Stormers in their quest for a fifth placed finish and the Lions in the run for a playoff spot will be helped if Ulster beat Munster in what should be a tight Irish derby on Friday night. If the Stormers beat the Dragons, which they should, and the Bulls beat Cardiff, which they should, then the Stormers go fifth, which would mean they play their quarterfinal against the Sharks in Durban, with their final league game against Cardiff to come.
ROUND 17 VODACOM UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Ospreys (Durban, Friday 9 May, 19.00)
Munster v Ulster (Limerick, Friday 9 May, 20.35)
Vodacom Bulls v Cardiff Rugby (Pretoria, Saturday 10 May, 16.00)
Benetton v Glasgow Warriors (Treviso, Saturday 10 May, 18.15)
DHL Stormers v Dragons (Cape Town, Saturday 10 May, 18.15)
Leinster v Zebre (Dublin, Saturday 18.15)
Connacht v Edinburgh (Galway, Saturday 10 May, 20.35)
Emirates Lions v Scarlets (Johannesburg, Sunday 11 May, 15.00)
Log situation with two games to go: 1. Leinster 67, 2. Glasgow Warriors 59, 3. Vodacom Bulls 58, 4. Hollywoodbets Sharks 53, 5. Cardiff 46, 6. DHL Stormers 45, 7. Scarlets 43, 8. Benetton 41, 9. Munster 41, 10. Edinburgh 39, 11. Ospreys 38, 13. Ulster 38, 14. Emirates Lions 35, 14. Connacht 35, 15. Zebre 29, 16. Dragons 9.