The Bulls delivered one of their best ever performances in a knockout match – even with dubious referee calls against them – to beat Leinster 25-20 on Saturday to reach the United Rugby Championship final. It was a brilliant defensive effort throughout the semi-final in front of a boisterous crowd of 31 578 at Loftus Versfeld, but none as good as the set eight minutes before the final whistle, when they kept the Irish side out after 20 phases to turn the ball over for a pressure-relieving kick. In those 20 phases Leinster hardly made metres, and that is a testament to the effort by the 15 Bulls defenders.
A monster hit by loose forwards Cameron Hanekom and Elrigh Louw provided the momentum for the turnover, and the home side could breathe a sigh of relief after the ball was hacked downfield by replacement Nizaam Carr. Even after winning and claiming a second final in three years of URC rugby, Bulls coach Jake White will be well within his rights to have a complaint or three over referee Sam Grove-White and his officiating in the game. If it was not blocking runners that obstructed Bulls kick-chasers that went unpenalised, Leinster had players slowing the ball down at the breakdown.
And TMO Ben Whitehouse also stepped in to chalk off the first try, a spectacular one indeed, after an off-the-ball tackle by Bulls flank Marco van Staden after he was first obstructed by Leinster flyhalf Ross Byrne. Those will all be big talking points, but the Pretoria side didn’t let those .