Joe McCarthy will play a pivotal role in Leinster’s efforts to blunt the Vodacom Bulls’ formidable forward pack in Friday night’s URC final.
The Ireland lock has become Leinster’s chief enforcer, a player whose uncompromising physicality and confrontational edge have drawn comparisons to former Bulls and Springbok hard man Bakkies Botha.
Leinster have no shortage of world-class talent, but few players embody the abrasive side of the game quite like McCarthy. Against a Bulls side built around power, set-piece dominance and relentless gainline pressure, the 25-year-old’s influence could prove decisive.
In 2024, none other than Botha’s long-time lock partner Victor Matfield compared the young Irishman to his former teammate.
“When you have that one guy in your pack that you know everyone in the other pack looks at and thinks, ‘Ah, do I want to take him on or take a step back?’ Then you’re really on the front foot,” Matfield said of McCarthy.
“That’s what we always had with Bakkies Botha, it didn’t matter where we went, we always knew the other guys were thinking that when he was arriving at the ruck.”
The Irish giants will run out at Croke Park as defending URC champions but carrying the scars of yet another Investec Champions Cup final defeat.
Leinster’s season now hinges on URC glory. Standing in their way is a grizzled pack of forwards desperate to engrave the Bulls’ name on the URC trophy for the first time.
Photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
The post Friday Night Lights: Leinster’s answer to Bakkies appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Joe McCarthy will play a pivotal role in Leinster’s efforts to blunt the Vodacom Bulls’ formidable forward pack in Friday night’s URC final.
The post Friday Night Lights: Leinster’s answer to Bakkies appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
