URC: Bulls 21 Leinster 20
Leinster suffered their first loss of the 2024/25 United Rugby Championship when the Bulls pipped them 21-20 at the death in Pretoria.
Assistant coach Jacques Nienaber predicted a Test-match intensity for this outing against the Bulls, and that was exactly how this encounter panned out.
The visitors led 10-6 at the break but would have expected a bigger return given the superiority they showed in the opening 40 minutes.
Jordie Barrett, who impressed throughout with his penetration and silky skills, darted across for the first try within five minutes after Tommy O’Brien launched a promising counterattack down the touchline.
Leinster were happy to move the ball wide and did so swiftly, while also keeping the Bulls on the chase with clever stab kicks. The home side did look dangerous on occasion when they opened up, but Leinster’s scramble defence managed to contain them and forced them to make errors.
The Leinster pack enjoyed ascendancy at scrum time initially, forcing a couple of penalties from the set piece, but the Bulls retaliated with a powerful shove, with Springbok tighthead Wilco Louw prominent, shortly before half-time.
Leinster started the second spell with equally impressive form, manoeuvring Andrew Osborne over in the corner after half a dozen phases. Ross Byrne converted from touch to increase their lead to 17-6 five minutes after the restart.
The hosts came back strongly thereafter, but still Leinster managed to keep them at bay with their staunch defence. Eventually, in the 57th minute the Bulls were awarded a penalty try when Thomas Clarkson collapsed the maul and was yellow-carded.
Leinster started conceding an alarming number of scrum penalties as the half progressed, and just beyond 72 minutes the Bulls mauled replacement hooker Johan Grobbelaar on the line for the home side to take a one-point lead.
The full-time whistle nearing, Byrne was on target with a penalty from 40 meters out, but after the Bulls forced yet another scrum penalty centre David Kriel nailed the kick to snatch the win with the clock in the red.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 2 mins: Johannes pen 3-0; 3: Barrett try, Byrne con 3-7; 17: Byrne pen 3-10; Half-time 3-10; 40: Johannes pen 6-10; 43: Osborne try, Byrne con 6-17; 57: Penalty try 13-17; 70: Grobbelaar try 18-17; 77: Byrne pen 18-20; 84: Kriel pen 21-20
BULLS: W Le Roux; S de Klerk, D Kriel, H Vorster, S Jacobs; K Johannes, E Papier; A Tshakweni, A van der Marwe, W Louw; R Vermaak, JF van Heerden; M Coetzee (capt), J Kirsten, C Hanekom.
Replacements: J Wessels for Kirsten (19 mins), J Grobbelaar for Van der Merwe (40), M Van Staden for Hanekom (47), M Smith for Louw (52), Z Burger for Papier (60), D Williams for Johannes (70), N Carr for Kirsten (74).
Yellow card: Tshakweni (14 mins).
Red card: De Klerk (74 mins).
LEINSTER: J O’Brien; T O’Brien, H Cooney, J Barrett, A Osborne; R Byrne, L McGrath (capt); J Boyle, J McKee, R Slimani; RG Snyman, D Mangan; M Deegan, W Connors, J Culhane.
Replacements: A Soroka For Culhane (7 mins), I Soroka for Culhane (8), S Penny for Deegan (10), C Frawley for Byrne (21-30), F Gunne for Osborne (27), S Smyth for McKee, T Clarkson for Slimani, B Deeny for Soroka (all 47).
Yellow card: Clarkson (57 mins).
Referee: B Whitehouse (WRU).
