‘Just Delighted For The Lads To Have Performed’ – Conan

After captaining Leinster to their first league title of the BKT United Rugby Championship era, Jack Conan said that exerting their physical force on the Vodacom Bulls was crucial to their 32-7 final victory at Croke Park.

With the Bulls renowned for their powerful forward play, and scrummaging in particular, Leinster laid down a significant marker by winning an initial scrum penalty before captain Conan crashed over for a fifth-minute try.

They repeated the trick early in the second half, another scrum penalty seeing Sam Prendergast tag on three more points as the wet weather made way for a welcome bout of sunshine.

Leinster’s sturdy set-piece also provided the platform from which replacements Ross Byrne and Fintan Gunne combined for a cracking closing try, with eight minutes remaining.

Young tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson stood out in a very effective scrummaging display from Leo Cullen’s men. They finished with a scrum success rate of 88.9%, aided by the impact of Rónan Kelleher and Rabah Slimani off the bench.

“We spoke about taking moment by moment, being where our feet are, and not getting ahead of ourselves,” said Conan, speaking in the aftermath.

“We knew it was going to be unbelievably physical, so there’s no point focusing on the bigger picture. It’s about the here and now, moment-by-moment piece.

“Just delighted for the lads to have performed. That’s what we spoke about during the week. We didn’t want to be outcome focused. We wanted to be performance focused, and I think we did that in spades today.

“For 80-odd minutes, I think the lads showed up really well and were incredibly physical, and that’s what we asked to be sure and I think we did that.”

Commenting on how well their scrum went under the guidance of coach Robin McBryde, he highlighted: “What we teed ourselves up for all week was the physicality of it and winning that battle, and I think we did that throughout.

“Everyone spoke about the threat of their scrum. A few decisions didn’t go our way, but the lads came on in the second half and I thought it was incredible, and even the boys who started as well were brilliant.”

Well-taken tries from Jordie Barrett, who skilfully turned Luke McGrath’s dinked kick over the top into an opportunist score, and Josh van der Flier gave Leinster a 19-0 half-time lead, and it was beginning to look a long way back for Jake White’s Bulls.

Replacement hooker Akker van der Merwe used a lineout maul to get them off the mark in the 50th minute, but the hosts had the better of the final quarter, getting points on the board that the South Africans had missed out on before the break.

The Pretoria-based side had hammered away at the Leinster defence late on in the first half, moving with reach of a much-needed opening score. However, the blue wall held firm from a tap penalty five metres out, and 18 subsequent phases.

Willie le Roux took the wrong option with a cross-field kick that was well covered by Prendergast, and the veteran full-back then threw a forward pass as another strong defensive set from the table toppers ensured no reward for a 15-phase Bulls attack.

“It boils down to man on man, you know,” acknowledged Conan, when asked about defending their try-line. “Wanting to put your head where you wouldn’t put a shovel and getting off the line and trying to whack people.

“I thought we dealt really well with how direct the Bulls were. You look at the end of the first half, they’re attacking our line hard and we’re holding them out, and some of those shots were incredible.

“I think you can lose focus a little bit thinking about rugby, all the different parts of it, but ultimately it’s a physical game.

“Unbelievably proud of everyone’s effort, not just the lads that played today, but everyone who has contributed throughout the season. We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for every single player that has played.

“Even the lads who haven’t played, their contributions to training and prepping us to perform today, we wouldn’t have got the win without them, so credit to everyone.”

It was the perfect way for Leinster to cap off a season that had its lowest point six weeks ago with their Investec Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton Saints. But they regrouped, most impressively over the past fortnight, to end a four-year wait for a trophy.

For Conan, being the victorious captain for the first ever rugby final to be held at Croke Park clearly meant a lot. His first memory of being at the Jones’s Road venue was watching the Wicklow footballers win the Tommy Murphy Cup back in 2007.

Following the official trophy presentation on the pitch, Conan and his team-mates gave an appreciative nod to the home of the GAA and its traditions by ascending the steps of the Hogan Stand to raise the URC silverware aloft, much to the delight of the Leinster fans.

The Bray native savoured those moments and made sure to pay tribute to the supporters, adding: “To be in the Hogan Stand to lift the trophy with all your mates, and your family and loved ones, it’s incredibly special and something that will live long in the memory.

“I know it wasn’t full today but (it) was 46-odd thousand people there and we could feel every single one of them. You could hear their voices and they got behind us and stayed after the final whistle, for half an hour, 40 minutes afterwards for us to lift the trophy and do a lap and all that.

“It’s one of the big reasons why we do what we do – to give back to the people who come to support us day in, day out, and through the good days and the bad days.

“It’s incredibly pertinent that we give them something to celebrate, and I think everyone is just elated with a good performance more than anything else, to give back to all those supporters.”