Leinster seek glory against Bulls, but knockout matches give them the blues

They may be the widely accepted blue-ribbon team in the United Rugby Championship (URC) but Leinster will have to come to grips with South Africa's blue-chip team in the competition this season.

The visitors were keen to eschew the favourites' tag through their forwards coach Robin McBride ahead of Saturday's URC semifinal against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld. That is perhaps unsurprising as they, despite their galaxy of Test stars, have the unwanted baggage of not winning a major trophy since 2021.

They had dominated the Pro14, the forerunner to the URC, winning it four times between 2018 and 2021. Though still fiercely competitive, they have not added to their silverware since and their trophy drought has drawn awkward questions, especially after their recent disappointment in the Champions Cup final.

Since the URC launched in the 2021-22 season they have won three and lost two knock-out matches.

They've had to grapple with a perennial dilemma. Leinster have tried to perform the delicate balancing act, seeking to remain competitive in the Champions Cup and the URC. Winning the Champions Cup is clearly their priority and while they routinely fight their way to the business end of both competitions, they have now established a pattern of falling tantalisingly short.

“We've had to do things a little differently this season,” admitted grizzled assistant coach McBride in the Irish Examiner. “We had home knock-out fixtures the past couple of years, but there is a little trick, definitely in my head anyway, where it is good to do things the hard way around because when you are written off and nobody gives you an opportunity you just have to prove all the doubters wrong.”

To be fair, they have sowed that doubt.

Since winning the Champions Cup in 2018 they have been on a barren streak. In 2019 they lost to Saracens in the final and the year after they fell to the same opposition in the quarterfinals.

They lost in the last three finals, the first two to La Rochelle and last month they saw Toulouse surge to a sixth title.

In short, they've been in the last seven Champions Cup finals losing four.

The URC is in its third season and Leinster are yet to win it.

They were shocked at home in consecutive semifinals with the Bulls achieving the near impossible by winning in Dublin in the inaugural 2021/22 season.

Last year bitter rivals Munster upstaged them at home in a tense but thrilling knock-out match.

In the first two years of the URC they thoroughly dominated the league stages. In the inaugural season they topped the league by six points over the Stormers, but they went even better last season clearing second-placed Ulster by a staggering 11 points, suffering just one defeat before they fell to Munster in the semis.

This year, with their undoubted focus winning the Champions Cup, Leinster lost five league matches in the URC and finished third on the points table. That effectively put them on a collision course with the Bulls in the semifinals and has presented them the opportunity to exact revenge for their semifinal exit in front of their fans at the hands of Jake White's team two years ago.

Their trophyless streak however has invited doubt and while they would normally go into matches as firm favourites, Leinster aren't necessarily the team to beat at Loftus.

“If you have a chip on your shoulder that will drive you on a fair bit,” said McBride. “So there is part of you that says, 'ya, bring it on. Make it harder again then.' We will still embrace it and still give it our best crack.”

Leinster centre Garry Ringrose has been restored to fitness after he returned to training last week. The veteran international has recovered from a shoulder injury.

Jack Conan is expected to return to training this week after he missed the match against Ulster as a precaution.