The DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls ensured that the opening season of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship would finish with a South African champion after they edged Irish teams Ulster and Leinster by small margins in their respective semi-finals over the weekend, setting up an all-SA final in Cape Town on Saturday. Initial reports suggest that the final to be hosted at the DHL Cape Town Stadium will be played on upcoming Saturday at 19h30.
Both matches proved to be a hard grind as all four semi-finalists gave everything they had, but in the end, the Capetonians edged Ulster by 17-15 at the DHL Stadium with a dramatically converted try in injury-time on Saturday afternoon, booking them a home final as the highest place team on the log to feature in the grand finale.
All the pressure came down to DHL Stormers flyhalf Manie Libbok who kicked the winning conversion with the teams tied at 15-15 with seconds left to play after Springbok fullback Warrick Gelant scored the crucial try moments earlier.
A Warrick Gelant try and the successful conversion deep in injury time by Manie Libbok saw the DHL Stormers snatch a home final in dramatic fashion as they edged Ulster 17-15 in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final in Cape Town on Saturday.
The victory, with the hosts reduced to 14 men due to a red card with 10 minutes to go in the match, booked them their spot in the final against the Vodacom Bulls at home.
The match was on a knife's edge for most of the second half after Ulster went into the break leading by 15-10, but the DHL Stormers' never-say-die attitude pulled it through for them, much to the delight of the massive crowd in Cape Town.
Meanwhile, the Vodacom Bulls edged log-leaders and tournament favourites Leinster 27-26 in a shock result in Dublin on Friday night, after holding a slender 17-14 lead at the break.
Despite the hosts outscoring the Tshwane side by four tries to two and a penalty try, the visitors’ goal kicking, which featured two penalty goals and a conversion, nudged them in front on the scoreboard when the final whistle sounded, securing their place in the final.
The Vodacom Bulls achieved the almost impossible in Dublin on Friday night when they upset heavy favourites Leinster with a massively physical performance to book their place in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship final courtesy of a 27-26 victory (half-time 17-14).
With their forwards setting the tone on a windy and rainy evening at the RDS Arena, dominating the collisions and stopping Leinster from gaining any momentum in the set pieces, the Vodacom Bulls became the first South African team to win a Vodacom URC match in the Irish capital.
Their defence was also superb, restricting Leinster’s famous attack in a way seldom seen in Dublin and forcing the hosts to make errors, and although the home side outscored the men from Pretoria by four tries to three, they failed to get any form of proper momentum, mainly due to the Vodacom Bulls’ superb tackling.