Petersen sends Bulls to URC final

06/15/2024 12:11 PM

Sergeal Petersen scored a second-half brace to push the Vodacom Bulls through a star-studded Leinster and into the URC final in Pretoria on Saturday.

Petersen scored the winning try in the 67th minute as the Vodacom Bulls claimed a 25-20 victory at Loftus Versfeld to secure their place in the URC’s grand final.

Here come the Bulls

A fairy-tale start as Petersen comes flying in for the score @Vodacom#URC | #BULvLEIpic.twitter.com/aiSHV5XHU5

— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) June 15, 2024

It will be the Bulls’ second appearance in the final, having previously faced the DHL Stormers in Cape Town in 2022. The Bulls will now be waiting with baited breath to see if Glasgow Warriors can beat defending champions Munster, to send the final to Pretoria for the first time.

The victory was built on a tactical masterclass from Jake White’s side, who came into the match without the services of Springbok starts Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie, against a Lenster team boasting 15 internationals in their starting lineup.

Called in to replace the Bok duo, Petersen and fellow wing Devon Williams were excellent in the air, with Willie le Roux and Johan Goosen causing Leinster no end of problems with cross-field kicks.

Cameron Hanekom did his hopes of a Springbok call-up for the upcoming July internationals no end of good with a monstrous performance on attack and defence that earned him the man of the match award.

The Bulls dominated the first 20 minutes and had a try chalked off for an infringement in the build-up by Marco van Staden. The game appeared to take a momentum shift as Petersen was yellow carded for an intentional knock-down, with Leinster taking full advantage by putting James Lowe over in the corner for the opening score.

However, the Bulls kept applying the pressure and took the lead when Goosen ran an excellent line to burst through the Leinster defence and score a self-converted try. Goosen added a penalty in the final play to give the Bulls a slim three-point lead at the break.

Coming out firing in the second half, the Bulls quickly got their second try from an excellently-worked move, with Petersen winning the race to Harold Vorster’s grubber kick.

Leinster were never going to go down without a fight and narrowed the scores again when Ryan Baird scored from a quick-tap penalty near the Bulls’ tryline.

Goosen and Leinster playmaker Ross Byrne traded penalties, before Petersen latched onto Embrose Papier’s hoisted kick, racing through the cover defence to score a sensational try.

The home side then produced a defensive rearguard, surviving a period of over 20 phases of Leinster attack, with Hanekom and Louw combining to win a crucial breakdown turnover, which saw Leinster pinned back down in their own 22 in the closing stages.

Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images

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