Bulls end Leinster's unbeaten run in dramatic fashion at Loftus

MATCH REPORT: David Kriel landed an 85th-minute penalty to give the Bulls a dramatic 21-20 win over Leinster in a United Rugby Championship Round 13 clash in Pretoria on Saturday.

The visitors, who had the lead for most of the game, thought they secured victory with a Ross Byrne penalty in the 78th minute.

However, play dragged on well after the final hooter sounded and the Bulls’ forwards were the heroes as they won a scrum penalty.

After missing a conversion attempt earlier, Kriel held his nerve to score the vital three points.

The defeat means Leinster’s unbeaten run in the tournament has ended. They entered the match with 12 wins from 12 matches in the URC.

It was a messy performance by the hosts and they also played the last five minutes with 14 men after Sebastian de Klerk was shown a red card for foul play.

The tight victory was enough to lift the Bulls back into third spot ahead of the Sharks, who beat Zebre earlier in the day.

The Bulls applied the early pressure and they turned it into points with a penalty from flyhalf Keagan Johannes in the third minute.

However, moments later, some miscommunication by the Bulls under a high ball led to the visitors scoring their first points of the game.

After Andrew Osborne showed some great skill to gather the loose ball, Leinster sent the ball wide and Jordie Barrett was put into space to score a try.

Byrne added the extra two points with the conversion.

The Bulls were reduced to 14 men in the 15th minute after Alulutho Tshakweni received a yellow card for a no-arms tackle on Will Connors.

A few minutes later, Leinster extended their lead with a Byrne penalty.

Johannes had a chance to claw another three points back for the Bulls in the 24th minute, but he pushed his penalty attempt wide.

The visitors thought they scored their second try in the 28th minute but it was ruled out for obstruction by RG Snyman near the tryline.

The Bulls had the final say in the first half with Johannes converting a scrum penalty into three points.

It was the perfect start to the second half for Leinster as they turned some great running rugby into a try for Osborne.

There was a lengthy TMO review to see if he had lost control of the ball over the tryline, but there was no compelling evidence.

Byrne also stepped up to convert the score to give his side an 11-point lead.

The Bulls found a way back into the game in the 58th minute via Leinster’s ill-discipline.

Replacement prop Thomas Clarkson received a yellow card for collapsing a maul near his own tryline and the Bulls were awarded a penalty try.

Leinster could not cope with the Bulls’ power in the final quarter and Jake White’s side eventually took the lead in the 71st minute with a Johan Grobbelaar try.

The Bulls suffered a blow 75th minute when De Klerk was given a red card for tackling Osborne in the air.

And few minutes later Leinster regained the lead with a fantastic penalty kick from Byrne.

However, with the clock running well into overtime, the Bulls’ pack produced the goods again by winning a scrum penalty and Kriel was on target to give his side the vital three points.

Man of the match: The Bulls’ replacement forwards were outstanding in the second half. They absolutely destroyed Leinster in the scrums and they were excellent in the mauls. However, judging from the overall performance, we have to give it to Leinster flank Will Connors. He was a colossus in the physical exchanges for the visitors and he put his body on the line when it came to the defensive work.

The scorers:

For Bulls:
Tries: Penalty Try, Grobbelaar
Pens: Johannes 2, Kriel

For Leinster:
Tries: Barrett, Osborne
Cons: Byrne 2
Pens: Byrne 2

Red card: Sebastian de Klerk (Bulls, 75′ – foul play, tackling a player in the air)

Yellow cards: Alulutho Tshakweni (Bulls, 15′ – foul play, no-arms tackle); Thomas Clarkson (Leinster, 58′ – cynical play, collapsing the maul)

Teams:

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Celimpilo Gumede, 20 Marco van Staden, 24 Nizaam Carr (new number due to jersey size), 22 Zak Burger, 23. Devon Williams.

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Hugh Cooney, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 James Culhane, 7 Will Connors, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Diarmuid Mangan, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 John McKee, 1 Jack Boyle.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Smyth, 17 Ivan Soroka, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Alex Soroka, 21 Scott Penny, 22 Fintan Gunne, 23 Ciarán Frawley.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Sean Muller (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Breakspear (Wales)