THIS WAS LARGELY a brilliant tussle of legal brutality, but when Stormers’ back row Ruan Ackermann slipped over the line of acceptable physicality with 11 minutes to go, his team’s hopes of a big upset also slipped away with his red card.
Defending champions Leinster are back in the URC final, and they will meet the Bulls in a repeat of last year’s decider, once again at Croke Park.
It will be a Friday night fixture this time around, with Leinster welcoming the South Africans to the GAA HQ on 19 June at 7.30pm.
The Irish province finished strongly in this superb semi-final against the Stormers, with the 15,346 people in attendance getting full value for the price of admission as John Dobson’s visitors fronted up strongly, making more than 200 tackles.
Leinster had to scrap for everything. There was even the rare sight of a schemozzle in the tunnel as the sides headed in for their half-time break, with Leinster 13-8 in front.
Ruan Ackermann's upgraded red card was a big moment. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
Leo Cullen’s men appeared set to kick on early in the second half when Stormers wing Leolin Zas was sin-binned but the combative Stormers actually won that sin-bin period 3-0 to increase the pressure on Leinster.
Rieko Ioane’s first-half try had seen Leinster make a strong start to the game, yet they had to fight for every inch in the second half, only getting scoreboard separation after Ackermann’s upgraded red card for a dangerous clearout on Rónan Kelleher.
It was player of the match Jamison Gibson-Park who delivered the finishing touch with a classy try under the posts, the highlight of another influential performance. Sam Prendergast kicked two penalties and a conversion for Leinster, while Harry Byrne added the extras to Gibson-Park’s score.
Leinster now have two weeks before the final against the Bulls, who beat Glasgow in Edinburgh earlier on Saturday, but the sight of Andrew Porter limping off in clear pain in just the 22nd minute was cause for concern.
Josh van der Flier and captain Caelan Doris were among many others who required medical attention during a ferocious game, but they played on and were among the Leinster forwards to deliver heavy work-rates in what was an absorbing semi-final.
Cullen and co. move on to Croker after a good win, with the retention of their title now in touching distance.
Ioane celebrates his try with Jamie Osborne. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
It was a brawl from the very beginning, although Leinster were able to land some body shots in the opening stages, with Ioane finishing from a slick sequence of passing just after the busy Jimmy O’Brien darted and offloaded down the right-hand side.
Prendergast converted that try and added two penalties in the next 15 minutes. The first came after Gibson-Park surged into the Stormers 22 after an aerial contest win for Leinster. The second came from a high tackle by Adré Smith on O’Brien.
Leinster seemed in control at 13-0 but the Stormers won back the ensuing restart, Evan Roos forcing the ball loose of opposite number Doris. That marked the start of a purple patch that included Smith’s try from a five-metre tap penalty, as well as a penalty goal from out-half Jurie Matthee to punish Leinster edging up offside.
Leinster had a chance to finish the half with a second try but they erred twice. First, Ioane knocked on with advantage playing and a big scoring chance begging wide on the right. And then Leinster lost their patience as they battered at the line, playing away from the trenches, only for Prendergast to be smashed by scrum-half Imad Khan, with the Stormers forcing a turnover.
The hostilities continued as the teams went down the tunnel at half time, with Doris and Joe McCarthy in the thick of it.
James Lowe and Max Deegan close to the touchline. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
The opening minutes of the second half saw the tussle continue, but the Stormers’ ability to stay in the fight was tested when left wing Leolin Zas was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on with Leinster set for a linebreak down their right-hand side.
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Yet they fronted up once again and nearly broke clear in the next passage as Thomas Clarkson lost the ball in the Stormers’ 22, with Hugo Keenan required to make a superb trackback tackle on Khan, who didn’t have the speed to take it home.
In the ensuing scramble, Prendergast’s clearing kick attempt thundered into Gibson-Park’s head, with the Stormers awarded an attacking scrum for the accidental offside. The Stormers pack turned that scrum into three points thanks to Matthee’s three points.
Leinster still had a two-point lead at 13-11. The tension grew with 25 minutes to go and the Stormers having won the sin-bin period on a 3-0 scoreline.
Leinster needed some momentum and seemed to get it when Doris thundered through the heart of the Stormers defence, only for the impressive Roos to come up with another big turnover in his 22.
Ruhan Nel celebrates a penalty. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Leinster kept coming forward, but the Stormers kept finding an answer in defence.
And the South Africans turned the tables when captain Ruhan Nel came up with a brilliant 50:22 kick down the left. Suddenly, Leinster were under pressure in their 22. Replacement tighthead Rabah Slimani came up with a breakdown poach to lift it.
The ferocity of the contest then spilt over with 11 minutes to go, when Stormers sub Ackermann hammered into a breakdown and made clear contact with Kelleher’s head. Referee Hollie Davidson showed him yellow and sent the incident for off-field review.
That loss of control by Ackermann was Leinster’s cue to seal the deal.
On the very next attack, Davidson signalled advantage when Salmaan Moerat played the ball with his foot while he was on the ground. It came loose from Gibson-Park’s hands but he just scooped the ball up, and sniped through the wrong-footed Stormers defence before stepping Zas for a classy score.
Moerat was sin-binned and Harry Byrne, on for Prendergast, converted. Leinster had breathing room with eight minutes left. Adding to the sense of relief was confirmation of the red card for Ackermann. Against the Stormers’ 13, Leinster saw it out from there.
Leinster scorers:
Tries: Rieko Ioane, Jamison Gibson-Park
Conversions: Sam Prendergast [1 from 1], Harry Byrne [1 from 1]
Penalties: Sam Prendergast [2 from 2]
Stormers scorers:
Tries: Adré Smith
Conversions: Jurie Matthee [0 from 1]
Penalties: Jurie Matthee [2 from 2]
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O’Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne (Garry Ringrose ’62), James Lowe; Sam Prendergast (Harry Byrne ’58), Jamison Gibson-Park (Luke McGrath ’76); Andrew Porter (Alex Usanov ’22), Rónan Kelleher (Gus McCarthy ’69), Thomas Clarkson (Rabah Slimani ’55); Joe McCarthy (Diarmuid Mangan ’69), James Ryan; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier (Jack Conan ’55), Caelan Doris (captain).
- This article was updated at 7.45pm to correct an error stating that Marcel Theunissen had been red-carded. Ruan Ackermann was red-carded. The date of the URC final was also correct from July to June.
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Leinster earn home URC final against Bulls after brutal Stormers battle
Leinster 20
Stormers 11
THIS WAS LARGELY a brilliant tussle of legal brutality, but when Stormers’ back row Ruan Ackermann slipped over the line of acceptable physicality with 11 minutes to go, his team’s hopes of a big upset also slipped away with his red card.
Defending champions Leinster are back in the URC final, and they will meet the Bulls in a repeat of last year’s decider, once again at Croke Park.
It will be a Friday night fixture this time around, with Leinster welcoming the South Africans to the GAA HQ on 19 June at 7.30pm.
The Irish province finished strongly in this superb semi-final against the Stormers, with the 15,346 people in attendance getting full value for the price of admission as John Dobson’s visitors fronted up strongly, making more than 200 tackles.
Leinster had to scrap for everything. There was even the rare sight of a schemozzle in the tunnel as the sides headed in for their half-time break, with Leinster 13-8 in front.
Leo Cullen’s men appeared set to kick on early in the second half when Stormers wing Leolin Zas was sin-binned but the combative Stormers actually won that sin-bin period 3-0 to increase the pressure on Leinster.
Rieko Ioane’s first-half try had seen Leinster make a strong start to the game, yet they had to fight for every inch in the second half, only getting scoreboard separation after Ackermann’s upgraded red card for a dangerous clearout on Rónan Kelleher.
It was player of the match Jamison Gibson-Park who delivered the finishing touch with a classy try under the posts, the highlight of another influential performance. Sam Prendergast kicked two penalties and a conversion for Leinster, while Harry Byrne added the extras to Gibson-Park’s score.
Leinster now have two weeks before the final against the Bulls, who beat Glasgow in Edinburgh earlier on Saturday, but the sight of Andrew Porter limping off in clear pain in just the 22nd minute was cause for concern.
Josh van der Flier and captain Caelan Doris were among many others who required medical attention during a ferocious game, but they played on and were among the Leinster forwards to deliver heavy work-rates in what was an absorbing semi-final.
Cullen and co. move on to Croker after a good win, with the retention of their title now in touching distance.
It was a brawl from the very beginning, although Leinster were able to land some body shots in the opening stages, with Ioane finishing from a slick sequence of passing just after the busy Jimmy O’Brien darted and offloaded down the right-hand side.
Prendergast converted that try and added two penalties in the next 15 minutes. The first came after Gibson-Park surged into the Stormers 22 after an aerial contest win for Leinster. The second came from a high tackle by Adré Smith on O’Brien.
Leinster seemed in control at 13-0 but the Stormers won back the ensuing restart, Evan Roos forcing the ball loose of opposite number Doris. That marked the start of a purple patch that included Smith’s try from a five-metre tap penalty, as well as a penalty goal from out-half Jurie Matthee to punish Leinster edging up offside.
Leinster had a chance to finish the half with a second try but they erred twice. First, Ioane knocked on with advantage playing and a big scoring chance begging wide on the right. And then Leinster lost their patience as they battered at the line, playing away from the trenches, only for Prendergast to be smashed by scrum-half Imad Khan, with the Stormers forcing a turnover.
The hostilities continued as the teams went down the tunnel at half time, with Doris and Joe McCarthy in the thick of it.
The opening minutes of the second half saw the tussle continue, but the Stormers’ ability to stay in the fight was tested when left wing Leolin Zas was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on with Leinster set for a linebreak down their right-hand side.
Yet they fronted up once again and nearly broke clear in the next passage as Thomas Clarkson lost the ball in the Stormers’ 22, with Hugo Keenan required to make a superb trackback tackle on Khan, who didn’t have the speed to take it home.
In the ensuing scramble, Prendergast’s clearing kick attempt thundered into Gibson-Park’s head, with the Stormers awarded an attacking scrum for the accidental offside. The Stormers pack turned that scrum into three points thanks to Matthee’s three points.
Leinster still had a two-point lead at 13-11. The tension grew with 25 minutes to go and the Stormers having won the sin-bin period on a 3-0 scoreline.
Leinster needed some momentum and seemed to get it when Doris thundered through the heart of the Stormers defence, only for the impressive Roos to come up with another big turnover in his 22.
Leinster kept coming forward, but the Stormers kept finding an answer in defence.
And the South Africans turned the tables when captain Ruhan Nel came up with a brilliant 50:22 kick down the left. Suddenly, Leinster were under pressure in their 22. Replacement tighthead Rabah Slimani came up with a breakdown poach to lift it.
The ferocity of the contest then spilt over with 11 minutes to go, when Stormers sub Ackermann hammered into a breakdown and made clear contact with Kelleher’s head. Referee Hollie Davidson showed him yellow and sent the incident for off-field review.
That loss of control by Ackermann was Leinster’s cue to seal the deal.
On the very next attack, Davidson signalled advantage when Salmaan Moerat played the ball with his foot while he was on the ground. It came loose from Gibson-Park’s hands but he just scooped the ball up, and sniped through the wrong-footed Stormers defence before stepping Zas for a classy score.
Moerat was sin-binned and Harry Byrne, on for Prendergast, converted. Leinster had breathing room with eight minutes left. Adding to the sense of relief was confirmation of the red card for Ackermann. Against the Stormers’ 13, Leinster saw it out from there.
Leinster scorers:
Tries: Rieko Ioane, Jamison Gibson-Park
Conversions: Sam Prendergast [1 from 1], Harry Byrne [1 from 1]
Penalties: Sam Prendergast [2 from 2]
Stormers scorers:
Tries: Adré Smith
Conversions: Jurie Matthee [0 from 1]
Penalties: Jurie Matthee [2 from 2]
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O’Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne (Garry Ringrose ’62), James Lowe; Sam Prendergast (Harry Byrne ’58), Jamison Gibson-Park (Luke McGrath ’76); Andrew Porter (Alex Usanov ’22), Rónan Kelleher (Gus McCarthy ’69), Thomas Clarkson (Rabah Slimani ’55); Joe McCarthy (Diarmuid Mangan ’69), James Ryan; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier (Jack Conan ’55), Caelan Doris (captain).
STORMERS: Damian Willemse; Wandisile Simelane (Warrick Gelant ’58), Ruhan Nel (captain), Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas (yellow card ’47); Jurie Matthee, Imad Khan (Stefan Ungerer ’62); Ntuthuko Mchunu (Vernon Matongo ’54), André-Hugo Venter (JJ Kotzé ’54), Neethling Fouché (Zachary Porthen ’54); Adré Smith, Connor Evans (Salmaan Moerat ’47 (yellow card ’69)); Paul de Villiers (Ruan Ackermann ’60 (red card ’69)), Ben-Jason Dixon (Marcel Theunissen ’46), Evan Roos.
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU).
- This article was updated at 7.45pm to correct an error stating that Marcel Theunissen had been red-carded. Ruan Ackermann was red-carded. The date of the URC final was also correct from July to June.
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Leinster Report Semi-final Stormers title defence URC