DUBLIN – Former Ireland international Simon Zebo delivered a blunt assessment of the Bulls following their disappointing United Rugby Championship final performance on Friday night, singling out two of their biggest stars for criticism and labelling the team’s display as “horrible”.

Leinster cruised to a 36-7 victory at Croke Park to claim back-to-back titles, leaving the Bulls well below their best. Zebo was particularly disappointed with the contributions of Springbok fly-half Handré Pollard and young star Canan Moodie.

“I’m flabbergasted as to how bad the Bulls have been,” Zebo said. “Pollard, a World Cup winner. He’s been the worst player on the pitch. Canan Moodie, you could say the same thing about him. You rely on your best players to step up in big games. They have been nothing short of horrible,” reports Kickoff.

The defeat marked the fourth final loss in five years for the South African side. The match mirrored last year’s final at the same venue, where the Bulls lost 32-7.

The Bulls’ troubles began in the second minute when Moodie received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-down. Despite being a man down, their defence initially held firm, but Leinster’s Tommy O’Brien scored a converted try in the seventh minute.

Rieko Ioane extended the lead to 12-0 in the 15th minute before Willie le Roux was binned in the 25th minute for another deliberate knock-down. Jack Conan forced his way over from close range, with fly-half Sam Prendergast converting before adding a penalty to make it 22-0 at half-time.

Prendergast, who was named player of the match, extended the lead to 29-0 early in the second half. The Bulls finally registered their first points in the 62nd minute when Moodie cut through for a converted try, though two potential scores were controversially ruled out.

Harry Byrne’s late try sealed Leinster’s triumph.