Cape Town — The Bulls tackled, jumped, scrummed, kicked and ran their hearts out at the RDS Arena — and they conquered.
It was a performance that will go down in history as one of the Bulls’ finest as Jake White’s side defied the odds to pull off a heroic 27-26 victory over the mighty Leinster in Dublin on Friday night that sent them into the United Rugby Championship final.
The men from Pretoria were never meant to even be competitive… let alone win. Leinster had won this tournament for the last four years in a row, and had just lost the European Champions Cup final to La Rochelle.
THE VODACOM BULLS BEAT LEINSTER BY 𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙋𝙊𝙄𝙉𝙏 BOOK THEIR SPOT IN THE VODACOM #URC FINAL 🟦 pic.twitter.com/xhlrmMJMj9
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) June 10, 2022
The Irish outfit were filled to the brim with current Test stars, while the Bulls had none. The inclination was that the Bulls would do well to make a game of it, but that ultimately, Leinster’s slick style of play would be too much to handle.
But no one told Johan Grobbelaar that; nor Walt Steenkamp; nor Marcell Coetzee. They were just three of an entire set of Bulls superman forwards who never took a backward step to their more illustrious opponents.
They knocked them back in the tackle, made almost every breakdown a battle, challenged the opposition lineout throws and stood strong in the scrums.
🗣️ "I didn't expect it. This is one of the best wins for a Bulls team!"
Bobes, Victor and Schalk reflect on an epic night for Jake White and his players in the Vodacom #URC 👏 pic.twitter.com/BIna6Eo41E
That was the Bulls attitude right from the start, when they held out on their own tryline as they absorbed wave after wave of Leinster attacks, and then got relief from a penalty.
The home side scored a somewhat fortuitous try in the ninth minute through hooker Dan Sheehan, after David Kriel and Madosh Tambwe were unable to field a grubber by flyhalf Ross Byrne.
But Chris Smith soon put over a penalty to make it 7-3, and despite Canan Moodie losing the ball over the line as he went to place it on the ground, Man-of-the-Match Grobbelaar crossed the line from a clever move off a tap penalty, with Elrigh Louw running to the left and popping it back to a charging Bulls No 2.
This is what it means 💪@Vodacom #URC #LEIvBUL #AllFor1 #SSRugby pic.twitter.com/JWheO5PBYk
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) June 10, 2022
Suddenly the South Africans were 10-7 ahead, and they never relinquished their lead. They played with real confidence after a physical start, and they produced a classy piece of play from the lineout that saw Louw punch it up the middle before skipper Coetzee dived over.
Leinster were never going to give up, though, and centre Robbie Henshaw got them back into the mix by darting over from the middle of the ruck following some good hands in the backline.
The Bulls led 17-14 at halftime, and came out flying after the break. They camped on the Leinster tryline and went through 18 phases, but the Irish side’s desperate defence kept them out.
Johan Grobbelaar, you deserve the MOTM 🥇@Vodacom #URC #LEIvBUL #AllFor1 #SSRugby pic.twitter.com/myMbFVyS6O
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) June 10, 2022
That may have been the turning point in the game, but the Bulls didn’t let that get them down. They kept plugging away, even though they lost wing David Kriel to a head knock at one stage.
The forwards were simply magnificent, and produced the moment of the match when they rumbled a maul forward that was collapsed by Leinster, and referee Andrea Piardi had little choice but to award a penalty try.
A 10-point lead at 24-14 was still no guarantee that the Bulls would do the unthinkable and win in Dublin, and there would have been real nerves in the coaches’ box when left wing Rory O’Loughlin scored in the corner to make it 24-19 with 10 minutes to go.
That winning feeling 😃@Vodacom #URC #LEIvBUL #AllFor1 #SSRugby pic.twitter.com/wC437YFy67
Veteran flyhalf Johnny Sexton missed the touchline conversion, though, which would have made it a two-point game, and that meant Leinster had to continue chasing another try.
The Bulls got a crucial penalty in the closing stages that Morné Steyn slotted to make it 27-19, and even a late consolation try by Cian Healy wasn’t enough for the Irish side to launch a comeback.
Take a bow, Marcell Coetzee and the rest of the Bulls 23!
Points-Scorers
Leinster 26 – Tries: Dan Sheehan, Robbie Henshaw, Rory O’Loughlin, Cian Healy. Conversions: Ross Byrne (2), Johnny Sexton (1).
Bulls 27 – Tries: Johan Grobbelaar, Marcell Coetzee, Penalty Try. Conversions: Chris Smith (2). Penalties: Smith (1), Morné Steyn (1).
IOL Sport