Leinster sent out a massive message to the rest of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship as they walloped a poor Vodacom Bulls side 47-14 to put some daylight between them and their nearest rivals in Dublin on Friday night.
Before the game Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White said that he wanted the game to measure just how good his side are, and asked them to fire shots.
Well, he got as emphatic an answer as he could have got as the Irish juggernaut scored 36 second half points to ram the message hard down the Bulls throats that they have a long way to go before they can have title ambitions.
But it wasn’t surprising. To beat a side like Leinster you have to stop them getting into a rhythm, you have to be sharp in your setpieces and your kicking game has to be top notch. Then, with a bit of luck the hometown decisions that come with a stadium like the RDS don’t sting as much and you have a chance.
Unfortunately the Bulls had none of this - at least not in the second half as their own failings were pounced upon by Leinster and they were given a rugby lesson in game management.
ERRORS WERE COSTLY
Seven tries to one probably flatters the Bulls in the end as they were decent in staying in the game in the first half but totally capitulated in the second, handing Leinster field position and territory almost at will with poor kicking and unforced errors.
Perhaps the most disappointing part of the whole performance was the lack of ambition by a Bulls side that had, until this game, scored more tries than Leinster in the URC. Instead they tried to play a territorial game and kicked most of the counter attacking opportunities away, often under pressure.
At least three tries came from bad kicks, and as the game went on the Bulls defence fell apart to such an extent that they were lucky they weren’t punished even more by the Irish side.
Especially in the backline the midfield seemed disjointed on defence and slipped way too many tackles. Canan Moodie will likely grow into a top class midfielder, but his defensive reads at times were poor and his greatest weapon - being able to poach high ball - was really missed on the night.
MCGRATH SHOULD HAVE SEEN RED
To add to the ignominy, the Bulls had a try disallowed and Leinster escaped what should have been a clear red for a head clash.
Luke McGrath barrolled across to clatter into Kurt-Lee Arendse as he was about to score the try, making clear head contact and having no attempt to bind in the “tackle”. Yet somehow Craig Evans found that the “impact was mainly on the body” and gave him a yellow.
One of rugby’s greatest problems at the moment is the fact that red cards are a lottery but if McGrath’s tackle attempt was not a red, then World Rugby should review its protocols in entirety.
In the end, it was just one more lucky escape at home for a team that are very used to getting calls in their favour.
Ditto the second half when Arendse had thought he scored his second. Countless replays of an incident where Harry Byrne dived and played a ball illegally on the ground, which should have counted as the first offence, were ignored as Arendse had tried to kick the ball, but made contact with Byrne’s back in the process.
It seemed like a rugby incident and looked as if Arendse tried to pull out, but Evans decided the try had to be cancelled. It wouldn’t have mattered as the die was already cast by then.
Still, what seemed to be a good dogfight between the two top sides became a blowout in the second half.
DOGFIGHT
In the first the Bulls started to get scoreboard pressure, taking a 6-0 lead before a loose ball was missed by Moodie and Jordan Lamour went straight through the middle to offload to Josh van der Flier to score.
The second try came from a rolling maul that twisted around and saw Ronan Kelleher go over.
But the Bulls pounced back as Johan Goosen beat a tackle on a rare counter attack and sent the ball wide for Arendse to go in at the corner - despite McGrath’s illegal tackle.
Goosen put the Bulls 14-11 up at the break with a penalty and the Bulls were ready to battle it out in the second half.
Leinster hit them with a blitz, first capitalising on a terrible clearance kick from Willie le Roux to counter attack all the way to the line where James Lowe went in at the corner.
Then an equally bad up and under by Embrose Papier, whose kicking was off on the night, gave the Irish side a penalty as players couldn’t retreat. With the ball pumped into the corner, Leinster pounded the Bulls line before Michael Milne found space on the blindside to run in an easy try.
From 14-11 in front, the scoreline ballooned to 26-14 for Leinster. The Bulls' cause wasn’t helped by two poor lineout throws that missed the mark in the Leinster half and stunted their attack.
It was around the 60 minute mark, and after those two misses that the Bulls defence fell apart completely, and Leinster scored through Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan and Liam Turner, making the scoreline look very lopsided and dropping Bulls heads everywhere.
White may have wanted a measurement, but he probably didn’t expect it to get this bad.
And if they are to have any hopes of a final in a few months time, the Bulls will need a lot of introspection.
And a helluva lot of hard work ahead.
Scorers
Leinster - tries: Josh van der Flier, Ronan Kelleher, Jame Lowe, Michael Milne, Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan, Liam Turner. Conversions: Harry Byrne (6).
Vodacom Bulls - try: Kurt-Lee Arendse. Penalties: Johan Goosen (3)