There were sore hearts in the Bulls’ change room after they slumped to a disappointing 36-7 defeat against the defending champions Leinster in the United Rugby Championship final in Dublin on Friday, coach Johan Ackermann said.Leinster were dominant from the opening whistle and led 22-0 at halftime against a Bulls side who were slow out of the starting blocks at Croke Park.“The Bulls didn’t really give ourselves a chance and were out of it quite early on the scoreboard,” Ackermann said.“There were a lot of sore hearts in the change room afterwards, and we wanted to be more competitive.“But when I reflect on the season, I’m very proud of what we achieved.“The players showed a lot of fight, and it wasn’t a lack of effort.“We defended hard when Leinster attacked our line, but in those soft moments we were punished.”Ackermann said his team were on the back foot after Leinster’s opening try.Bulls coach Johan Ackermann (Nokwanda Zondi/BackpagePix) “After they knocked on, we tried to play out of our own half, lost the ball, and they went and scored,” he said.“Then we got the yellow cards to Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux in between that and lost a few lineouts.“We never really built a platform that gave us a chance.“They contested well in the lineouts, and perhaps we could have added a bit more variation to our seven-man lineouts.“But you have to credit Leinster because every mistake we made, they punished us.“They were very clinical and were just a champion team today [Friday]. They are a champion team with world-class coaches and world-class players.”Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said the win was the culmination of hard work.“I thought there were so many good things in the performance, and that’s really pleasing,” he said.“Obviously there are the lads that are on the field there today, but there are guys that have prepared them well all year.“You use a lot of players during the course of the season.“The staff and everybody have worked hard, which is good. But there was so much good to like out there.“If you think about when we sat here after round four, losing to Munster, having lost three of our first four games.“There’s been so much great stuff in the season. The group have been incredibly tied together.“It’s been a really enjoyable year. But it’s amazing to be here. “I thought there was an amazing atmosphere out there, and it was just a great day for the province, which is what we want.“We want to try and perform, particularly in front of home fans that are very passionate about the team.“And I thought that was an exceptional day out there today. “So, yeah, it was a great way to finish the season.”Scorers:Leinster 36: Tries: Tommy O’Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jack Conan, Sam Prendergast, Harry Byrne. Conversions: Sam Prendergast (3), Harry Byrne. Penalty: Prendergast.Bulls 7: Try: Canan Moodie. Conversion: Handré Pollard.