United Rugby Championship, round two: Bulls v Leinster, Loftus Versfeld Stadium; Saturday, 5.30pm Irish time. Live on Premier Sports 1
Earlier this week, assistant coach Robin McBryde bemoaned the fact that Leinster just weren’t Leinster in their opening match of this season’s United Rugby Championship (URC).
A 35-0 drubbing by the Stormers didn’t just cost points but gave reason to Leinster to engage in some early season re-examination. It’s too early for panic after one game, but their cards have been marked.
There is an agreed assumption that when Leinster are without their frontline international players, as they are in South Africa, they will nonetheless remain competitive, as they have done in previous years.
Last week the team was not competitive, and as they closed the page on the Stormers and opened another for this week’s meeting with the Bulls at altitude in Pretoria, a significant realignment is expected.
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Head coach Leo Cullen has made seven changes and while he expects those players coming in to add value, the veterans in the squad who remain will be asked to bring the leadership that was sorely lacking last week.
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“In my own area, I was saying Ryan Baird is one who’s really stepped up this week,” said McBryde. “You’re looking for the most experienced players to do that. Ryan has been good. Max Deegan has been excellent. There’s a few of them who have stood up and said, ‘right, enough is enough, come on, we’ve got to shape up here’.
“It was Brian Deeny (who) said it, he doesn’t want to go home with another bad performance, and they’ve had two opportunities to show what they can do and not having taken them. So, there’s a lot on the line for the boys as well, with regards to future selection, etc.”
The Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann had the usual kind words to say about Leinster, but he is wary of the reset. Leinster’s forwards struggled to provide decent ball last time out, the set piece needed to be stronger and they conceded three maul tries.
“We know Leinster are the best team in the competition,” said Ackermann. “They will come for us, for sure. That Leinster – against the Stormers – we won’t see again. They’ll want to rectify that. We expect a lot more pressure than last week.”
Leinster’s changes include the introduction Thomas Clarkson for the first time this season. The tighthead prop was called up to the British & Irish Lions as front row cover last summer.
Paddy McCarthy makes his first Leinster start at loosehead, with the lively Gus McCarthy at hooker.
Alex Soroka and Will Connors start in a changed backrow, with Deegan at number 8, while Cullen sticks with the same halfbacks of outhalf Sam Prendergast and scrumhalf Luke McGrath, who captains the side again.
Robbie Henshaw, who played at outside centre last week, moves to his more regular inside slot, with Hugh Cooney starting at 13.
Andrew Osborne starts on the left wing for his first outing of the campaign. His brother Jamie remains injured and did not travel with the squad to South Africa.
The Bulls, who beat Ospreys 53-40 last week in Loftus Versfeld, are this week led by Marcel Coetzee and have quality in reserve with World Cup winner Willie le Roux tucked away on the bench if required.
Despite Ackermann’s flattery and Leinster’s shock over last weekend’s performance, the Bulls will be playing hard for their second home win of the season.
BULLS: D Williams: S de Klerk, D Kriel, H Vorster, S Jacobs; K Johannes, E Papier; G Steenekamp, J Grobbelaar, M Smith, N Janse van Rensburg, JF van Heerden, M Coetzee (capt), M Gumede, JJ Theron.
Replacements: J Else, A Tshakweni, F Kloipper, S Manjezi, N Xaba, Z Burger, S Gans, W le Roux.
LEINSTER: J O’Brien, T O’Brien, H Cooney, R Henshaw, A Osborne, S Prendergast, L McGrath (capt), P McCarthy, Gus McCarthy, T Clarkson, B Deeny, R Baird, A Soroka, W Connors, M Deegan.
Replacements: J McKee, J Boyle, R Slimani, D Mangan, S Penny, J Culhane, F Gunne, C Frawley.
Referee: A Jones (WRU).
