Petersen Double Sees Bulls End Leinster’s URC Run In Pretoria

Sergeal Petersen swapped his first half yellow card for two decisive tries after the break as Leinster suffered more play-off disappointment at the hands of the Vodacom Bulls.

Two years on from their landmark BKT United Rugby Championship semi-final win in Dublin, the Bulls repeated that result at Loftus Versfeld where winger Petersen touched down twice, and the influential Johan Goosen scored 15 points in a 25-20 victory.

James Lowe (23 minutes) and out-half Goosen (29) swapped tries, the opening score coming during Petersen’s sin-binning for a deliberate knock-on, before Goosen’s penalty on the stroke of half-time made it 10-7 to Jake White’s well-drilled side.

Despite some strong running from Caelan Doris and Robbie Henshaw, Leinster lacked a clinical edge in attack. Credit must go to the Bulls, and player-of-the-match Cameron Hanekom and the pack in particular, for their robust defence throughout.

Doris did manage to power over on the 50-minute mark, but that came in response to Petersen’s first try. Ross Byrne twice kicked Leinster level, but Petersen crossed from a hanging Embrose Papier kick in the 66th minute to emerge as the South Africans’ match winner.

It is another hugely frustrating finish to the season for Leinster, coming just three weeks after their Investec Champions Cup final defeat to Toulouse. URC silverware has been out of reach for them since 2021, and it will be the Bulls or Glasgow Warriors who will lift the trophy next Saturday.

The opening five minutes of this semi-final saw plenty of tactical kicking, as anticipated, and the Bulls drew encouragement from a Hanekom turnover, and the sight of his back row colleague Elrigh Louw put into some space by a Goosen kick.

Devon Williams knocked on a cross-field delivery from Willie le Roux, but despite the Bulls applying pressure at the first scrum, Jamison Gibson-Park managed to break down the blindside and find touch just five metres out.

Tadhg Furlong was prominent early on with a couple of bustling carries, but a slight knock-on on the ground from the returning Garry Ringrose robbed Leinster of a promising position. In response, Goosen drifted a long-range drop goal attempt wide.

The Bulls had the first try-scoring opportunity, opening up the visitors out wide again. Petersen ran out of room, just a few metres short, before le Roux’s left boot connected again with Williams, who was tackled into touch by a determined Ringrose.

Le Roux thought he had sent Williams over for the opening score in the 18th minute, yet a TMO review highlighted Marco van Staden taking out Byrne without the ball at the previous phase.

Although Byrne missed his first penalty attempt, Petersen’s sin-binning opened up the space on the left for Lowe to dive over. It all came from an initial maul, and Byrne’s basketball-style pass provided the assist, with the Dubliner also adding a fine conversion.

However, the Bulls were back level by the 31st minute. Le Roux played a key role, landing a pinpoint 50:22 kick. Leinster were able to defend the maul, yet play moved in towards the posts and Goosen came back against the grain to cross from his half-back partner Papier’s pass.

There was a lot of ball-in-play time with plenty of kicking back and forth. Jimmy O’Brien was looking rock solid under the high balls, albeit that he lacked key support when winning one aerial duel outside the Bulls 22.

The Bulls did end a tightly-contested first half on the front foot, their beefy scrum earning the penalty which Goosen landed to split the sides. The gap was widened to 10 points inside two minutes of the restart as Leinster were stung out wide.

A nice spread of passes out to the left gave Harold Vorster the chance to kick in behind, and with the province struggling for cover, Petersen was first to the ball to dot it down. Goosen topped off the try with a well-struck conversion.

Having lost a scrum against the head, Leinster fired back with a sharp backs move that had full-back O’Brien haring through a gap. Lowe and Ringrose kept the move going, and two subsequent penalties led to Leo Cullen’s men getting over the whitewash.

Dan Sheehan tapped a five-metre penalty, going close with a low drive before Josh van der Flier fed Doris to crash over with the support of Furlong. Byrne’s conversion brought the deficit back to three points.

A scrappy spell of play was ended by a slick chip-and-collect from Lowe, who also hung an inviting pass behind him for replacement Rónan Kelleher to carry on the attack. Number 8 Hanekom was caught offside, allowing Byrne to made it 17-all entering the final quarter.

Goosen’s reliable right boot nudged the Bulls back in front from 42 metres out. The nip and tuck exchanges continued, with Doris spearheading a high-quality surge from Leinster. Byrne was able to punish Akker van der Merwe’s infringement at the breakdown.

Having got back on level terms once more, Leinster mixed the good with the bad as Ryan Baird knocked on the restart kick before a Goosen drop goal effort was blocked down by a charging Kelleher.

The lead was soon back in the hands of the hosts, though, at a crucial stage. Having been strong under the high ball for much of the game, Leinster were pipped this time by Petersen who got in ahead of replacement Ciarán Frawley, gathering the ball at the second attempt to claim his second try.

Althougb Goosen missed the conversion on the near side, the Bulls were five points to the good. Leinster’s bench helped them to launch 20-plus phases in attack, with Lowe, Jamie Osborne, Doris, and Jack Conan all gaining ground during a prolonged onslaught.

The Bulls kept them on the edge of their 22, and Hanekom, combining with Louw, led a counter ruck for a vital steal. Their physicality never waned, and with Leinster forced back downfield, it was White’s charges who deservedly won out in front of a 31,578-strong crowd.