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Gerry Thornley: Extension of URC has already achieved its aim

For Leinster any URC title will be harder earned than the previous Pro14 five-in-row

Ticket sales as of Friday for Leinster's URC quarter-final at the Aviva were over 15,000. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Gerry Thornley's face
Gerry Thornley
Fri May 5 2023 - 16:44

The jury is perhaps still out on whether the advent of the South African super rugby franchises to the URC, and by extension the European competitions, is a complete success already, not least considering the long-haul travel difficulties therein between the two hemispheres for all concerned. But most of the evidence so far suggests it has achieved two of its primary purposes, namely to up both standards and interest.

Were it not for the inclusion of the South African sides last season, most likely Leinster’s 76-14 quarter-final romp over a Glasgow side which has admittedly improved beyond all recognition this season would have constituted a semi-final.

Furthermore, this would have precluded another final at home to Ulster, who last season enjoyed a 36-17 quarter-final win over Munster in what was the only other URC knock-out tie not involving a South Africa side. Had that scenario panned out, then there might well have been more of a ho-hum reaction.

True, Leinster and Ulster have each plotted home routes to the final by dint of nailing down the top two places in the regular season table, and so that might yet come to pass.

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However last season Leinster suffered a surprise 27-26 semi-final defeat at home by the Bulls in a belter of a game, while Ulster suffered a dramatic last-play loss away to the Stormers. Suddenly the bar had been raised.

That is reflected in the team which Leo Cullen and his think tank have named for Saturday’s eagerly anticipated URC quarter-final against the Springboks-studded Sharks at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 5pm).

Granted, there’s no doubting that a cherished fifth star in the Champions Cup is Leinster’s most prized target, but even so Cullen and co have retained six of the starting line-up and 16 of the match-day 23 from last week’s superb semi-final win over Toulouse.

As they know from last season’s quarter-final against the Bulls, this will be no gimme. What’s more, the meeting with the Sharks last October at the RDS was one of the games of the season, when a strong Leinster side overcame the South African side by 54-34, eventually subduing their visitors by eight tries, seven of which Johnny Sexton converted, to five in a wildly entertaining encounter.

Furthermore, that Sharks team didn’t have Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi and Bongi Mbonambi. This quarter-final will certainly be on a par with last year’s, and for Leinster any URC title will be harder earned than the Pro14 five-in-row before last season.

The official attendance for that clash last October was 16,844, which included season ticket holders, whereas ticket sales as of Friday for this quarter-final rematch were over 15,000.

But season tickets do not apply to the knock-out games, and it’s worth recalling that the attendance for Leinster’s semi-final with the Bulls last season only attracted a crowd of 11,565. Even so, that was over 2,000 more than for the quarter-final against Glasgow a week previously, and this projected semi-final attendance still compares favourably with last year’s knock-out ties, also bearing in mind that akin to last year’s quarter-final, this season’s semi-final is being broadcast live by RTE.

In other respects we are not, of course, exactly comparing like with like. For starters, we are still in May, the traditional last month of the ruby season, per se, even if the GAA has already begun to swing into action.

Last season, the domestic campaign dragged on into June, which is when Leinster hosted both Glasgow and the Bulls. June proved to be a tricky month, a harder sell, for rugby. In addition, Leinster and their supporters were suffering a post-Champions Cup final hangover from the loss to La Rochelle in Marseilles just a week before the Glasgow quarter-final, whereas this time the province and their fans still have that final rematch to look forward to a fortnight hence.

Leinster’s end-of-season run-in and designs on both trophies are still intact and has momentum, with games week on week – even if that runs the risk of Aviva fatigue with Bruce Springstein taking over the RDS. (Indeed, I can hear him rehearsing as I type!)

But the Aviva is only 1km and a 15-minute walk up the road and is an easily accessible, modern stadium. The ticket pricing – €25 for adults and €12 for kids – is as competitive as last June. The team is playing none too shabbily either. Perhaps also, many thousands of supporters are without tickets for the Champions Cup final and are thus running out of options to see Leinster in action again this season.

It all adds up, but all in all, it does seem like the South African sides have raised the bar, on and off the pitch.