Brilliant Bulls reach second United Rugby Championship final as Leinster fail yet again

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The Bulls moved into the United Rugby Championship final with a 25-20 victory over a Leinster side who will once again end the season without a trophy.

In truth, the South African outfit were by far the better side for the majority of the match with the scoreline flattering the Irish province.

Jake White’s men found ways of getting both through and around the visitors, and they deserved the 10-7 lead given to them by Johan Goosen, who scored a converted try and a kicked a penalty.

James Lowe had given the visitors a 7-0 advantage but they were outplayed throughout and found themselves 10 points in arrears early in the second period through Sergeal Petersen’s effort.

Leinster responded and levelled matters via Caelan Doris’s score and Ross Byrne’s three-pointer before the respective fly-halves traded further penalties.

With 15 minutes to go, it was locked at 20-20, but Petersen was the hero as he collected Embrose Papier’s inch-perfect box-kick to touch down and win the game for the Bulls.

They will now head into the URC showpiece event, while the Irishmen will be left to contemplate yet another disappointing campaign.

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A frantic opening failed to produce points as the defensive quality on show matched that of both attacks.

The Bulls were winning the kicking battle and wings Petersen and Devon Williams had chances to score before the hosts did cross after 19 minutes.

Willie le Roux’s catch and pass in the same movement sent Williams into the corner, but the try was disallowed as Bulls flanker Marco van Staden had taken out Ross Byrne off the ball.

Bulls were reduced to 14 men by Petersen’s deliberate knock-on, and Leinster took instant advantage of the yellow card.

The Irish province drove to the line, and Byrne slipped a clever pass for wing Lowe to make the corner.

Byrne added the extras for a seven-point lead, but the Bulls fought back strongly despite being a man down.

Goosen cut a brilliant line from Papier’s pass to cross unopposed, and the outside-half levelled the scores with a simple conversion.

Bulls remained on top with their full complement restored and the Leinster scrum showed signs of discomfort.

Goosen landed an angled 25-metre penalty to put the Bulls ahead 10-7 at the break.

The South African outfit extended their lead within two minutes of the restart as Harold Vorster delivered a delightful kick down the touchline.

Potential URC final host venues confirmed including 80,000+ capacity mega stadium

Petersen gathered to race in, and Goosen converted, but Leinster stormed straight back just as it appeared the Bulls would dominate the closing stages at altitude.

Doris powered over from close range after Leinster had turned down the opportunity to take an easy three points and Byrne added the extras from under the posts.

Leinster levelled matters near the hour mark after a brilliant kick and collect from Lowe forced a Bulls error and a successful Byrne penalty.

Goosen and Byrne exchanged kicks as the see-saw nature of a high-quality contest continued.

There were 13 minutes left when Petersen beat replacement Ciaran Frawley to Papier’s box-kick.

Petersen touched the ball past Frawley and pulled it down to race clear, and Leinster could not rescue the situation in a pulsating finish.

The teams

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Devon Williams, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco Van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp

Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Cornel Smit

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan (c), 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Jamie Osborne

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)

Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland), Adam Jones (Wales)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)