Leinster rout Bulls 36-7 to seal back-to-back URC titles but Doris and O'Brien limp off

Leinster retained the United Rugby Championship title with a commanding 36-7 demolition of the Bulls at Croke Park, claiming their 10th URC crown in what proved an even more emphatic repeat of last year’s final. The victory was tempered, however, by first-half injuries to Caelan Doris and Tommy O’Brien, both of whom limped off to raise concerns ahead of Ireland’s Nations Championship opener against Australia in Sydney on July 4.

The Bulls were in trouble after just 82 seconds when Canan Moodie was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, and Leinster wasted no time capitalising. Tommy O’Brien opened the scoring after pouncing on a Handre Pollard knock-on, hacking on and touching down. Rieko Ioane added a second after Moodie slipped at a line-out, allowing Hugo Keenan to break clear with Ioane finishing with a sharp step inside.

Willie le Roux then joined Moodie in the sin bin for another deliberate knock-on, and Jack Conan — who had replaced the injured Doris — muscled over from close range for his fourth try in four URC finals. Man of the match Sam Prendergast rifled over a penalty to extend the lead to 22-0 before O’Brien, already carrying a knock, also departed the field.

Leinster showed no signs of easing up. Prendergast crossed for a try of his own, and although the Bulls briefly threatened through a Moodie score — set up by a powerful Marcell Coetzee run — any hope of a comeback was quickly extinguished. Harry Byrne finished off a dominant forward effort to complete the rout and seal a resounding victory.

The evening also served as a fitting farewell for wing James Lowe, who made his final appearance for Leinster after nine years of distinguished service for the province. Josh van der Flier also caught the eye with an energetic display.

For the Bulls, it was a fourth defeat in five URC finals, and their indiscipline — three yellow cards across the match — made a difficult task impossible. For Leinster, the win goes some way to easing the pain of last month’s Heineken Champions Cup final defeat to Bordeaux, delivering a domestic double to close out the season.