Same here!😂😂😂 I've been refreshing and re-searching nonstop. I was even worried something happened to Eggsy, I mean, he never takes this long, does he?
Hi Tim, don't you ever do this to us again ..Happy father's day by the way. I am sure you did your daddy duties first, as it should be. I have also been waiting for your review. I was tempted to called the Manchester police to look in on you😅 Thanks for always dropping excellent content
I agree 100% --- the Irish fans are always gracious in defeat .... the pundits not so much, although this time it seems they have laid into Lienster and the Leo Cullen. I think the problem was that everyone expected Leinster to win, and probably Leinster as well. They just had to pitch up and walk away with the win. And in that is the mistake. do not take anything for granted. They are one of the best club rugby clubs in the world, but you have to stay grounded and never think you are better than the other team, just because of what you have on paper. Paper do not win rugby games.
Leinster fan here. I'm not angry, just disappointed. To address the most common criticism of us Leinster fans...no we don't think we have a God-given right to win, and yes we've made it to an incredible number of semis and finals. HOWEVER, Leinster are by a long way the best resourced team in the URC. They receive considerable financial support from the IRFU, get ticket sales from the Aviva etc. They benefit from an international sacked squad AND have real depth. So, when you look at it from that perspective the last 3 years have been a disaster. Saying that, Neinaber didn't have a pre-season with them, so I'll give the coaching staff one more year to prove their stripes. Otherwise there needs to be a rethink.
This philosophy of “resting” the A-team has failed. If anything, it makes these guys soft, particularly mentally. The players are coddled. The benefit of depth is that if one of your A-team players gets injured you have a top class player to replace them with. It shouldn’t mean you keep them in a bubble for only the “important” games.
Keenan should not be allowed to switch to sevens until after the season. Madness. Luke mcgrath was a mile off the pace when he came on. Maybe he got a knock.
Leinster lost the URC when they sent their second team to south Africa, hammered in both games, came third and therefore having to play away from home.
I have a confession. I don’t listen much to other podcasts. Anyone share this view? England in or out of the equation Tim is always on point! (Ps he is doing more to promote the values of the game than the IRFU itself)
You nailed it, everything you said was on point. Yes English refs currently head and shoulders above the rest. The ref and TMO both have to be stood down to a lower league.
I also felt that..both ways. Hard to watch rugby when the rules are so many and complex and the refs struggle...easy from the armchair...but TMO should be better then.
Tim, proof that you are a key player in rugby culture today: From the moment of the final whistle, I was waiting for ONE thing, your video and summary. You have a unique passion and talent. Thanks for sharing it with us
Leinster/Irish fan here: Bulls were fantastic, their scrum was awesome and their No. 8 Hanekom was a big player on the day. And Doris had a good game! Their tactics were effective, their execution was top-notch. Overall it is super healthy for the URC to have this final. I am up for Glasgow for the final for that reason alone. A Scottish winner would be brilliant. Bring on the final. Re coaching: Most of this team will face the Boks in a few weeks, and may well win. Lee Cullen does not get the same performance out of these players that Farrell et al do.
I wonder if that is in part down to the cohesion that Leinster players bring to the international team. Cohesion that most other international teams lack. Farrell may well build upon it too.
Wat hing SR for many years I have to say this comp is superior. Having so many different teams in the past few years finals show that. Irish teams will come back stronger. Great to have a Scottish team in the final too. SA teams quality will always eb and flow as superstars go overseas for the paycheck and younger players come through. Enjoying URC much more than SR and I think I speak for most Saffas.
Leinster team showed their class, no moaning, no whining, no excuses. Referee sub standard. Bulls were the best, most desperate team on the day. They deserved the win.
The refereeing was atrocious. One sided in favor of Leinster. Well done to the Bulls to overcome that, since they were clearly the better team on the field.
Great summary Tim. I'm a disappointed Leinster fan but Bulls very worthy winners. The match was won in the tactics room. Kicking game was exemplary. Leinster were lacking a cutting edge and Bulls defense was heroic. Jake White is a terrific and admirable coach. Gracious in victory and defeat. Best of luck in the final.
Big respect to Leinster. After growing up watching SR and moving to URC the last 3 years, imo Leinster feel like the Crusaders of the URC. I just know they will be a top finishing team always vying for the trophy. What I'm really enjoying about the URC is that so many teams were in in it right till the end.
@@rorygilmoreNZ no, not at all. Not sure what games you were watching. 7 years in a row suggests the side was pure class, no need for a ref to help out. Leinster have bottled it for the past 4 years, you can understand why they paid the ref in there attempt to succeed.
@@mitch2924 I can’t agree with your “paid the ref” comment. I don’t think this happens in rugby… but there is such a thing as unconscious bias. I’ve lived in NZ for 20yrs and there are many historical examples of anti SA bias in SR officiating. I know you have not said or implied it, but unfortunately Saffas suffer from pre-existing bias based on a combination of their gruff Germanic sounding accent, their political past and the general roughness and violence of the environment most people in Africa have had to grow up within. These have not helped SA’s reputation, but the thing to remember is that much of this has come from a noisy minority and does not apply to the majority of rugby fans.
They have no choice but to…they had 2/3 of the Irish squad, the ref and TMO all on their side and still couldn’t win. It would have been an absolute joke if they were upset after losing that game.
@@mitch2924having most of the boks does nothing for the sharks and the crusaders went like 10 years with no super rugby title despite having most of the all blacks .
@@eoin8156 true but when you add the the 2 men who control what happens in the game to your team (the ref and TMO), there should be no reason to lose…yes?
@@eoin8156 to be fair to the Sharks, they didn’t have most of their Boks for large parts of the season early on after the WC and only really toward the end did they get a decent run with mostly everyone back, where they ended up completely dominating the Challenge Cup final. Still no excuse for many of their poor performances though but they hardly had any of their big players for the first half of the season. Think next year with a proper pre-season, Andre Esterhuizen back and paired with Am and the big players fit, they will be a seriously good team.
Can’t wait to have you in SA Tim. Found your channel during the WC in 2023 and one thing I love about your commentary is that you celebrate rugby’s uniting and humbling nature . Keep up the great work sir , look forward to you experiencing some school boys rugby in SA , as it is something to behold.
Cameron Hanekom, Elrich Louw must have got Rassie’s attention.( I hope so) Leinster are a great team and remain a benchmark. Referee was ridiculously bad. Jake White has been putting together something special. Congrats JW. Leinster fans are class. The Irish can be proud.
Big bulls fan here. So happy both underdogs took the WIN this weekend. LOFTUS baby!!!!! So correct the Bulls defensive effort and scrumming was a surprise for me. Thank you so much of saying something about the whistle - was sub par! Superb content mate!
The ref was abysmal and very biased. Allowing McCarthy to play Papier from the ground on the wrong side of the ruck in full view of the entire stadium and TV audience is shocking. It should have been a YC as should have been McCarthys late tackle on Le Roux.
I was there and it was a fantastic game and Bulls were unbelievable (ive been at every game since stormers lost to them and as you say their defense has been seriously lacking at times up to now) ...I am a rookie and have been waiting for your appraisal Tim because thats how Im learning....it was the best game Ive watched live so far (converted by the Boks) ..Willie is a master and wonderful to see how they made up as a team for losing magicians Kurt-Lee and Canan...what a privilege to watch such determination and consistent effort!!...Bok level play! Love your positive and insightful yet empathetic comments because you love the game so much. Thank you and enjoy your trip! Get here early..the crowd support at Loftus is epic!
Leinster fan here, it's starting to be ridiculous at this stage tbh, Bulls played out of thier skins, Leinster looked like they didn't care too much for the URC, Leo didn't play it smartly and all focus on the champions Cup has sacrificed another season for us. Bulls deserved to win and fair play to them. But we are hurting from not having Lancaster in the management set up is costing us. I really hope we take the URC more serious next season, I personally prefer it to champions Cup, there's just something awesome about the league. And I hope the SAFFAS kick us into gear too.
I am predicting SA teams to struggle once they play Championship Cup from next year. Up to now SA teams could concentrate on URC games / competition. We do not have the resources to have 8 top of the line reserves on the bench (Leinster had 1 088 club caps on the bench against the Bulls and over 2 000 club caps running on). Unless the budgets are doubled for the four SA teams they will struggle.
.Testament to the popularity and quality of your review is that this is the only one I watched from start to finish. Waited all day for this. Appreciate the balanced review of the referee's performance.
I think the Bulls deserved to win. Thank you for a clear analysis. I am looking forward to the other semi final review. 2812 views in 45 minutes - speaks for itself. I am South African and looking forward to your stay here. Please be careful.
Spot on analysis as always, thanks Tim. As a bull and bok fan, I don't think we can read too much from this match into the first test at loftus. This irish group does seem to respond much better to Farrel and co than to Leo for some reason, they will be up for it. Surely Wilco is banging the door down for a place in the bok 23. Crazy to think Hanekom is only 22, held his own and even dominated at times against arguably the best loose trio in club rugby, what a boyki!
I was screaming when Peterson didnt go under the posts for the last try. Before the kick even got taken i just felt like it would be classic leinster to score at the death snd steal it.
Yup and his preposterous launch into the air as he touched down was pure selfishness when he could have cut another 4 or 5m off the kicking angle. Simply selfish.
I think ONE of the big differences was that Goosen and Le Roux had one of these games where they got out of the right side of the bed on the morning of the game. Goosen’s kicking fell away through exhaustion but the running lines and kicking of that pair were one of these days where their rugby instincts in close quarters kicked in. Everything went right.
I used to work at Loftus Versfeld in the Naas Botha days, I fell in love with rugby at those times and it is great the Bulls, still in blue are doing so well. As Saffas in Austria in Graz, we watched the 2023 RWC final and the Irish staff at the Irish pub were still pissed that they were not even in the final. The best team won.
Please come to Loftus for the final. It was a very frustrating game to watch. Inconsistency in decision-making was reving up the crowd a lot. Congrats and thanks to the hand full of leinster players who did a post match lap. @James Low, Jack Conan, Josh VDF and Allan Alaalatoa. Got big respect from Loftus faithful .
Tim, I kept refreshing the channel for several hours after the game waiting for this video but you are forgiven! 😂 Very good reasons for doing it later. Thanks for your great contribution to the game we love. Holding thumbs for you to catch the Friday flight ✈️ ✌️
Willie Le Roux will never get the full credit he actually deserves. He's that good. His kicking AND game management on the field tore Leinster apart, and even without Sexton or Keenan, that's not an easy thing to do. As for the officiating, I think everybody agrees. All the Leinster and Bulls fans I was in contact with during the game were apalled, regardless of which team was rewarded with a penalty or advantage. Watching the Munster v Glasgow game afterwards, Piardi looked so much more in control of the game and fair it was kind of shocking. Maybe we could bring Barnes out of retirement ? xD The final is going to be epic, no matter which side wins it (fingers crossed for the Bulls.....hope Willie is on the pitch, then it's almost a guaranteed win ain't it ? xD). The fact that we will have had three different winners three years in a row (and three finals in South Africa !!!) is a good sign. The URC is awesome.
Epic rugby match,,Leinter were pure class,,Bulls were like warriers,, ref was poorest ever,,,but the keys to Bulls win were the longer kicks,,,downfield, desperation defence and forwards ball carrying. As a Bulls fan its a joy to see Cameron show his readines for Bok honours. A new hero was born.
It is indeed amazing what Jake White has created at the Bulls with his coaching proess. There are players from different unions that were supposedly not good enough. He has created an atmosphere where hard work and commitment are rewarded . To the so called second string players, well done indeed
One thing that isn't talked about enough is the tactical nouse of the coach. Jake kept his Leinster game plan under wraps and sprung thectrap beautifully.
Great game.....but, the ref had a shocker. If the Bulls lost because of it many would have been left upset. This level of refereeing is not up to standard.
Leinster are a great club. And certainly the best squad in the URC. Hard luck! But makes me even more proud we beat them!!! Ireland first team against Pretoria, and we won!!! Love it!
Imagine Ireland had a guy like Johan Goosen now. They'd be unstoppable. If that guy never got injured. He would've been the best 10 in the world by some way now.
Great review, kept looking for it. Thank you for your comments on the reffing team, I was watching this game and the blood was boiling. No reward for dominance - and all the other things you mentioned. Enjoy SA.
Very physical game. Not surprised by the Bulls getting up the way they did in the circumstances. But these Irish lads didn’t stand back and made a real tussle of it-and no whingeing- credit to their country. It will go up another level in the tests.
In this modern era of rugby I think it’s become all about analysis and big budgets. What’s being over looked is what’s still at the very heart of rugby and that is desperation, pride, a desire to win, just plain old “heart”. Not sure those things will ever be replaced
Hi Tim hope you make the final next Saturday. Leinster fan here 😱, firstly Bulls played brilliantly , their defence won it . Leinster missed Hugo Keenan , in both attack and in defence . no 10 position too , attack was poor !
They played a Bok game plan. Rumour has it that the Boks had their training camp in Pretoria next door to where the Bulls were preparing and Rassie met with Jake and gave him his input. Whether it is true or not, there was a clear Bok blueprint in their game.
@@willemsteyn7808that’s were you wrong…the mastermind mind of Rassie (clearly fooling the commoners) - knew we had to look like we could beat Ireland after missing kicks and leaving 11 points on the field in order to avoid the kiwis till the final. Gullible people are the Irish aren’t they. The game prior that we lost by 3 points due to a yellow card. Rassie is going to make a joke out of the Irish in a month’s time. Let’s see how your comment ages.
@@mitch2924while I agree that the RWC loss to Ireland was strategic, pointing it out the way you have is poor form, and doesn’t consider the respect the Boks and S.Africans have developed for the Irish over the last few years. You’re an embarrassment in comparison to the magnanimity of other fan comments.
@@rorygilmoreNZ point it out the way I have. Buddy we missed 4 kicks, Ireland had no other chances. Irish are a bunch of bottlers that’s the facts. Leinster proved it with 2/3 of the Irish squad, ref and TMO on there side, Munster proved it, Ireland proved it. Ireland are only good in tournament involving European teams…Ireland is an embarrassment to NH and SH combined tournaments. The only reasonable win for the Irish against SA was vs there worst side in history - a team that got a 57-0 hiding to NZ, lost to Japan, couldn’t get out a QF at the WC. That team lost to everyone nothing to be jumping up and down about. Run along and enjoy hurling, rugby isn’t for the Irish.
I'm a big fan and look forward to your review of every match. I hope you can make it to Loftus on Saterday, I would like to meet you in person. Keep up the excellent commentary. Safe travels
Stormers fan here, but very happy for our blue brothers. Make us proud boys! Also, please fix your jerseys; there aren't enough white stripes in it!! EDIT: I commented before hearing the bit about the legendary Paddy Mayne. I know here are a lot of SA fans on here and I implore each and every one of you guys to read up about what a badass this was. Founding member of the SAS, he found himself fighting the Afrika Korps under the famed and feared Veldmaarskalk Rommel. Mayne and his fellow marauders sneaked around COD style and wreaked absolute havoc on German air power; it is estimated that Paddy Maybe himself destroyed as much as 100 aircraft. He really, REALLY did not like German aircraft. So then! This guy had enough to see in Africa and felt that he needed a change of scenery and invaded Italy. Doing night missions, SEAL type amphibious stuff and shot his way through heavy defences, all the while taking over towns and blowing some stuff up. You know, stuff like that. Near the end of the war, he felt that it was time to take it easy and... Nope, he went into German occupied France and assisted the French Resistance, feeding important scouting information to the Allies, as well as supplying the resistance fighters in any way he could. Next to Audie Murphy, probably the most iconic soldier from the entire war. Never won the Victoria Cross but definitely deserved it. This all after his native country Ireland was neutral during the war and he was under no obligation to go in the first place. Yet, there was a job to do and Paddy Mayne did it like a man. Rest in Power, Lt Col Mayne. Thank you for your service, during the darkest of hours. You dared. And you won.
Fair play Tim you were right when you said Hanekom and Louw better than Van Staden right now. Even Roos has to look over his shoulder 👀🔥🇿🇦. #Springboks
No it is Wiese that must look over his shoulder. Hanekom and Roos is the future at 8. I think Rassie must develop Louw into 7 together with Dixon to take over from PSDT.
Great video as usual. Agree on everything said about both teams. I do however disagree with what you said about the referees. It was not only poor refereeing, but extremely biased refereeing. Ben Whitehouse intervened in every good Bulls play to find something wrong, but not a single Leinster play with clear offences. He is notorious for not wanting SA to win. I know we should focus on highlighting good play and not bad/biased refereeing, however it cannot go on like this. It has to be addressed at some point as the regulatory body for refereeing doesn’t seem to do anything about it. Shocking and unacceptable.
As far as the URC is concerned, it's a testament to the quality of the tournament, and strength of the franchises involved that Leinster have struggled. They're not far off, but the margins are very small, one mistake can cost you a game, especially in the big matches. The same could be said about the Heineken cup. On the day in the big matches it often comes down to who wants it more.
The reason I say the bulls seemed like they wanted it more is.. I watched the game again, and in the last 15 minutes the bulls were defending like their lives depended on it, they were throwing their bodies into every tackle or collision, Leinster on the other hand Looked to be the opposite, standing back from collisions etc. It could have been that they were tired, but to me it looked like the bulls were more desperate and wanted it more.
Bulls fan happy with our performance against Leinster and the ref. He was shocking. Even on planet rugby they mentioned how shocking the ref was. Leinsterwere so many times offside, don't het penalized, then the late tackles, 🙄 but we pulled it through. Final at Loftus baby🎉 3 seasons now the final is in south Africa 🇿🇦
Love the URC. Go SA. Must say I don't love the hate Leinster gets. Never seen the Leinster 'arrogance', just a decent coach speaking sense and nothing bad really from any Leinster okes. Is it pure envy? I'm not in Ireland, so I cannot fully understand the nuance.
I was in Ireland working when Leinster played Saints. I went to a pub full of Leinster fan's to watch it and they were great but the RTE coverage was absolutely shocking, completely one eyed, very arrogant especially after the first half and they gave Northampton no credit at all for coming back. They didn't even interview a Northampton player after the game. It was pretty shocking to be honest, is it the same when Munster or Ulster play someone? I don't know but you can bet the TNT coverage would have been a lot less partisan.
Thanks for mentioning the officiating Tim. Rugby is a very complicated game and refs will make mistakes. We don't expect players to play a 100% flawless game, so it is unreasonable to expect it from the ref. But the issue that you rightly pointed out is that one thing a ref always has to be is consistent in his interpretation of the game. You can't penalize one team for an infringement and then let it go 5min later when the other team does the same thing. And protecting refs when they are subpar doesn't help anyone. The officiating detracted from the spectacle.
Hey Tim I am a fan of yours. I was worried because I heard your preview that you just give it to Leinster. But the wait has been satisfied, some people just got it and know how to be accurate ,and that’s you. Look hope you have a fantastic time in our Republic . Please be wise in where and how you travel around our beautiful Nation Shalom❤
Thanks Tim, great as usual. The Bulls/Willie le Roux showed how to counter rush defence. The Boks won 2 WC's with Nienaber's rush defence. Only the French nearly got the better of it. Would be interesting to see what the Boks defence is going to look like against Ireland/in future.
Great review as usual Tim many thanks. And spot on for noting the sub-standard refereeing which totally blew my mind yesterday. Two great teams playing a wonderful match of rugby and they have to contend with referees of such poor quality and some bias at times. (or lack of any courage to make any decisions at all). Will there be a review of this at all because the competition will suffer if it is not addressed.
I appreciate your honesty and giving credit where its due. I really hope you enjoy your stay in SA. Do all you can to change your ticket to watch the final. Watching a game at Loftus is amazing! Also, watching the Craven Week will be great with some serious talent. The ‘best rugby school in the world’ is in the Free State (Bloemfontein). If you get the chance to see the school, it would be great.
Spot on, Tim, spot on - the teams and the game itself were fantastic, the only stain on the URC record was the flaccid reffing, mimicking the 2019 RWC final - the neck-tackle on Kolbe right in front of the assistant ... makes us glad that Barnsey reffed the 2023 Final, eh?
thanks for the video Tim ... on your last one I called it, when you put up the combined team Bulls props and Cameron Hanekom !!!! He is just over 20 and played Calin Doris into a distant 2nd place on the combined team. Hope they can replicate this into the final. the ref was awful !!!!
I wonder if Leinster with Cullen and Neinaber are caught between playing a South African game with the big scrummage and taking the points and an Irish game with a more flowing game and therefore not doing either well enough in the very big games . In addition I would say that the competition is huge and if I was a fan of Leinster I would be very proud of the way they have played all season
