Vodacom Bulls Book Their Place In URC Final

 

Unimaginable, unthinkable, almost impossible. But that is what the Vodacom Bulls achieved 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 on Friday night.

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 hosts 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.

The Vodacom Bulls also challenged hard on the ground, winning turnovers at the rucks, and they also stole a number of crucial Leinster lineouts to ensure they stay in the fight.

The game was played at a massive pace with both teams hammering hard on attack, the Vodacom Bulls using strong driving play mixed with quick ball, while Leinster’s backline dazzled with great handling.

08:51 Dan Sheehan pounced on a mistake made by the Bulls' back three to score Leinster's first try. (07-00)

13:47 Chris Smith converted a penalty for the Bulls. (07-03)

19:26 Johan Grobbelaar scored the Bulls' first try after some great interplay from a five-meter tap-kick by Elrigh Louw. (07-10)

20:00 The Bulls did well to absorb the initial onslaught from Leinster, after which they started to dominate with the direct play of their forwards forcing Leinster in making several mistakes on the defence.

24:24 Marcell Coetzee bulldoze his way over the tryline for the Bulls' second try. (07-17)

32:12 Robbie Henshaw scored Leinster's first try after spending several minutes in the Bulls' red zone. (14-17)

40:00 Leinster controlled the first and last ten minutes of the first half while the Vodacom Bulls dominated the middle of the half. The Bulls surprised with the speed with what they played, however, as the rain started, Leinster were definately the better adapted.

52:34 Penalty try awarded for the Bulls after Leinster collapsed a driving maul. (14-24)

52:24 James Ryan (Leinster) was shown a yellow card.

60:00 A brilliant third quarter between two teams that were leaving everything on the field. Leinster was the dominant side at that stage.

69:41 Leinster attack from five meters out wide and a missed tackle or two allowed Rory O’Loughlin to go over in the corner. (19-24).

76:04 Morne Steyn converted a penalty. (19-27)

81:57 Cian Healy scored from a tap kick off a penalty. (26-27)

Scorers:
Leinster: Tries: Dan Sheehan, Robbie Henshaw, Rory O’Loughlin, Cian Healy. Conversions: Ross Byrne (2), Johnny Sexton.
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Johan Grobbelaar, Marcell Coetzee, Penalty try. Conversions: Chris Smith (2). Penalties: Chris Smith, Morne Steyn .

Teams:

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

Vodacom Bulls: 15. Canan Moodie, 14. David Kriel, 13. Cornal Hendricks, 12. Harold Vorster, 11. Madosh Tambwe, 10. Chris Smith, 9. Izak Burger, 8. Elrigh Louw, 7. Arno Botha, 6. Marcell Coetzee (c), 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Walt Steenkamp, 3. Mornay Smith, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 1. Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16. Bismark du Plessis, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Robert Hunt, 19. Janko Swanepoel, 20. WJ Steenkamp, 21. Embrose Papier, 22. Morné Steyn, 23. Kurt-Lee Arendse.