THE BULLS HAPPILY played their part in Leinster’s rocky start to this URC season.
Leo Cullen’s men lost three of their four opening league games back in September and October, leading to concerns about how their campaign would pan out.
One of those three defeats was a 39-31 loss at Loftus Versfeld, where the Bulls got an early chance to restore a hint of the pride they had lost in last season’s URC final at Croke Park.
Leinster dismantled Jake White’s team in that decider in June 2025, beating them physically, technically, and tactically. The former World Cup-winning coach subsequently parted ways with the Bulls.
Johan Ackermann came in as White’s successor, and with Handré Pollard having returned to the Pretoria-based club, there were hopes that the Bulls could kick on more happily.
They beat the Ospreys and Leinster in their opening two games of the season but then embarked on an awful run of results, winning just two of their next 10 games in the URC and Champions Cup.
In December, Ackermann called the Springboks to ask Rassie Erasmus if his coaches, including Felix Jones and Jerry Flannery, could cast an eye over how the Bulls were operating. They desperately needed to find ways to improve and save their season.
They finally got motoring again in January, and Ackermann’s men beat Edinburgh, Lions, Sharks, Cardiff, Munster, Scarlets, Dragons, Zebre, and Benetton to earn fourth place in the URC.
It has been a major turnaround for the Bulls, whose good form has continued in the play-offs. Now they’re into their fourth URC final and hoping to win for the first time.
Advertisement
The Bulls hammered Munster 45-14 in the quarter-finals and could have won by more, before Saturday’s impressive comeback win over Glasgow in the semi-finals.
Ruan Nortje and Nizaam Carr of the Bulls. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Two first-half yellow cards for the Bulls saw Glasgow race into a 21-10 half-time lead at Murrayfield. But the Bulls’ knock-out nous was clear once again as they won the second half 12-0 and earned a place in the final.
They will visit Croke Park again on Friday 19 June when they hope to get genuine revenge for what Leinster did to them in last season’s decider.
The Bulls will return to Pretoria in the meantime, rather than staying in this neck of the woods after their semi-final in Edinburgh. Ackermann’s side prefer to have home comforts before flying to Dublin closer to the final.
Leinster’s early-season travails were shorter-lived than the Bulls’ but both have firmly recovered from their worrying starts to earn a place in the decider at Croker.
Leinster overcame a physical effort from the Stormers in their semi-final on Saturday, and they will expect something similar in the final against the Bulls.
Stormers boss John Dobson, whose men beat the Bulls at home and away this season, expects a cracking final.
“I’d say the Leinster attack’s got an opportunity because I thought we defended very well. I’m not trying to be arrogant about it because we did a lot of it,” said Dobson.
“If you look at that game, if rugby is about a team that attacks, Leinster thoroughly deserve to win this game, so I think that Leinster attack is going to put the Bulls under pressure.
“I think obviously Leinster will have a fight. We’ve got a pretty powerful scrum. I think we’ve probably got the edge today. The Bulls have also got a good scrum.
“I think Leinster are going to have to handle that. I don’t know if the injury to [Andrew] Porter is serious, but, yeah, it’s going to be similar.”
Leinster's Alex Usanov lifts James Ryan in a lineout. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Whatever about the Bulls turning their season around in the second half, Leinster have done a fine job of earning themselves a home URC final despite the poor start.
With their big Lions contingent returning late, as well as another crop of Ireland internationals having the start of their pre-season delayed, it was a sluggish opening couple of months of the season.
Leinster have had to battle through many games this season, but they have won most of them. Since that poor start with three losses in four games, Leinster have only lost four more times in the URC and Champions Cup.
They were well beaten in the Champions Cup final by Bordeaux, but this URC final means they can end the campaign in style with another trophy on home soil.
Glasgow’s loss to the Bulls underlines the perils of knock-out rugby, even on home soil, so Leinster were happy to overcome their challenging hurdle against the Stormers.
“They’re a serious team, very good at what they do,” said Leinster scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park.
“We knew it was going to be a battle. But I suppose it’s been the story of our season a little bit. We’ve had to grind out a good few wins. And I think they probably stood to us a little today.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Leinster facing another battle in URC final repeat against Bulls
THE BULLS HAPPILY played their part in Leinster’s rocky start to this URC season.
Leo Cullen’s men lost three of their four opening league games back in September and October, leading to concerns about how their campaign would pan out.
One of those three defeats was a 39-31 loss at Loftus Versfeld, where the Bulls got an early chance to restore a hint of the pride they had lost in last season’s URC final at Croke Park.
Leinster dismantled Jake White’s team in that decider in June 2025, beating them physically, technically, and tactically. The former World Cup-winning coach subsequently parted ways with the Bulls.
Johan Ackermann came in as White’s successor, and with Handré Pollard having returned to the Pretoria-based club, there were hopes that the Bulls could kick on more happily.
They beat the Ospreys and Leinster in their opening two games of the season but then embarked on an awful run of results, winning just two of their next 10 games in the URC and Champions Cup.
In December, Ackermann called the Springboks to ask Rassie Erasmus if his coaches, including Felix Jones and Jerry Flannery, could cast an eye over how the Bulls were operating. They desperately needed to find ways to improve and save their season.
They finally got motoring again in January, and Ackermann’s men beat Edinburgh, Lions, Sharks, Cardiff, Munster, Scarlets, Dragons, Zebre, and Benetton to earn fourth place in the URC.
It has been a major turnaround for the Bulls, whose good form has continued in the play-offs. Now they’re into their fourth URC final and hoping to win for the first time.
The Bulls hammered Munster 45-14 in the quarter-finals and could have won by more, before Saturday’s impressive comeback win over Glasgow in the semi-finals.
Two first-half yellow cards for the Bulls saw Glasgow race into a 21-10 half-time lead at Murrayfield. But the Bulls’ knock-out nous was clear once again as they won the second half 12-0 and earned a place in the final.
They will visit Croke Park again on Friday 19 June when they hope to get genuine revenge for what Leinster did to them in last season’s decider.
The Bulls will return to Pretoria in the meantime, rather than staying in this neck of the woods after their semi-final in Edinburgh. Ackermann’s side prefer to have home comforts before flying to Dublin closer to the final.
Leinster’s early-season travails were shorter-lived than the Bulls’ but both have firmly recovered from their worrying starts to earn a place in the decider at Croker.
Leinster overcame a physical effort from the Stormers in their semi-final on Saturday, and they will expect something similar in the final against the Bulls.
Stormers boss John Dobson, whose men beat the Bulls at home and away this season, expects a cracking final.
“I’d say the Leinster attack’s got an opportunity because I thought we defended very well. I’m not trying to be arrogant about it because we did a lot of it,” said Dobson.
“If you look at that game, if rugby is about a team that attacks, Leinster thoroughly deserve to win this game, so I think that Leinster attack is going to put the Bulls under pressure.
“I think obviously Leinster will have a fight. We’ve got a pretty powerful scrum. I think we’ve probably got the edge today. The Bulls have also got a good scrum.
“I think Leinster are going to have to handle that. I don’t know if the injury to [Andrew] Porter is serious, but, yeah, it’s going to be similar.”
Whatever about the Bulls turning their season around in the second half, Leinster have done a fine job of earning themselves a home URC final despite the poor start.
With their big Lions contingent returning late, as well as another crop of Ireland internationals having the start of their pre-season delayed, it was a sluggish opening couple of months of the season.
Leinster have had to battle through many games this season, but they have won most of them. Since that poor start with three losses in four games, Leinster have only lost four more times in the URC and Champions Cup.
They were well beaten in the Champions Cup final by Bordeaux, but this URC final means they can end the campaign in style with another trophy on home soil.
Glasgow’s loss to the Bulls underlines the perils of knock-out rugby, even on home soil, so Leinster were happy to overcome their challenging hurdle against the Stormers.
“They’re a serious team, very good at what they do,” said Leinster scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park.
“We knew it was going to be a battle. But I suppose it’s been the story of our season a little bit. We’ve had to grind out a good few wins. And I think they probably stood to us a little today.”
There’s one more battle ahead for Leinster.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Bulls Decider johan ackermann URC