Details of the United Rugby Championship final have been announced following Saturday’s quarter-final matches between South Africa and Ireland.
Bulls shock Leinster
The opening game of the URC semi-final saw the Bulls take on Leinster and the home team produced a superb performance to defeat a strong Irish side 25-20 in Pretoria.
They dominated most aspects of the match, scoring well against the visitors. In the pack, Cameron Hanekom was outstanding, supported well by back-rowers Elli Rowe and Marco van Staden.
Ahead of them, lock Ruan Nortje was outstanding, while props Wilco Rowe and Gerhard Steenekamp outshone some well-known front-rowers.
That set the platform for Johan Goosen to score in the first period and the fly-half also converted a penalty at half-time to extend their lead to 10-7, with Leinster’s James Lowe scoring.
The Bulls extended their lead in the second period through Sergei Petersen, who scored off a slick grubber shot from Harold Forster, but the Irish fought back.
Caelan Doris scored a touchdown and Ross Byrne added a penalty to make it 17-17 with a quarter to go.
The two fly-halves then traded three-pointers with the game tied at 20-20 but Pietersen outjumped Ciaran Frawley to latch onto the box kick and slot it over the whitewash, proving to be the difference.
Glasgow break down Munster’s defence
Meanwhile, in the subsequent semi-final, Glasgow Warriors stunned Munster by beating the defending champions 10–17 at Thomond Park to knock them out of the URC.
In a tense semi-final, the Warriors kept their cool despite having two players in the sin bin to win a tough game, led by Franco Smith, who led 5-3 at half-time thanks to a try from Kyle Stein and then extended their lead in the second half with a brilliant goal from Sebastian Cancellier.
Munster had a goal in the 55th minute through Antoine Frisch, but a dangerous clearance left centre Alex Nankivell with a red card, giving Munster a lot of work to do. George Horne converted the penalty and the Scottish side managed to secure the win.
They travel to Pretoria next week to take on the Bulls in the grand final where a new champion will be crowned for the third year in a row.
URC Final – Bulls vs Glasgow Warriors
date: Saturday, June 22
venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
kick off: 18:00 local time (17:00 UK & Ireland time)
Broadcaster: SuperSport, RTÉ, Premier Sport, URC.tv
read more: Great Bulls reach second United Rugby Championship final as Leinster lose again
