URC result: Bulls fight back to edge Glasgow in epic semi-final

· Citizen

The Bulls will go through to their fourth URC final after beating Glasgow Warriors 22-21 in their semi-final at Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday.

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They will face the winner between Leinster and the Stormers, in Dublin or Cape Town, on 20 June, after those sides play their semi-final later on.

Glasgow scored three unanswered tries in 10 minutes to lead 21-3 in the first half. The Bulls fought back with physical dominance to win scrum penalties and push Glasgow mauls back, before their bomb squad maintained the intensity for the final quarter.

It went to the wire with the Bulls leading 22-21 in the final minutes but failing to put the game to bed with three consecutive missed penalty kicks. In the end, resilient defence and a turnover at the death sealed their win.

Glasgow dominate first half

The Bulls showed intent early on with a strong scrum and scored first with a penalty after an infringement at the breakdown in the 6th minute.

But Handré Pollard received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on four minutes later. Glasgow used their superior numbers to twice feed the ball wide to wing Kyle Steyn for an overlap try, first in the 15th minute and then in the 19th.

Dan Lancaster converted both to give Glasgow a 14-3 lead.

Glasgow compounded the pressure with a powerful rolling maul in the 25th minute, which Bulls lock Ruan Nortjé was found to collapse illegally. He received a yellow card, and Glasgow were awarded a penalty try to go 21-3 up after 26 minutes.

The Bulls would have hit back with a try following a few drives from the forwards in the 31st minute, but the TMO ruled there was a knock-on in the grounding. But they went back for an earlier penalty and the Bulls went over the same way, hooker Johan Grobbelar scoring a converted try a minute later.

The Bulls gained momentum with more scrum dominance, but lost it with a skewed lineout. The game went to half-time with the score 21-10 to Glasgow.

Bulls fight back in second period

Glasgow lock Scott Cummings received a yellow card for repeated infringements early in the second half, and Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier immediately dashed through a gap to score.

A strong Cameron Hanekom run culminated in a Francois Klopper score for the Bulls in the 53rd minute. Pollard’s conversion gave the Bulls their first lead of the game: 22-21.

The score remained so going into the final quarter. Pollard missed three opportunities to extend the lead when he pulled two penalties wide and hit the posts in another.

Still, the Bulls halted a Glasgow attack in the final minutes when Bulls centre Stedman Gans made a dominant tackle, stood up, and performed a turnover. The Bulls secured their lineout and kicked the ball out for the win.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Johan Grobbelaar, Embrose Papier, Francois Klopper. Conversions – Handré Pollard 2/3. Penalties – Pollard 1/4.

Glasgow: Tries – Kyle Steyn (2), penalty try. Conversions – Dan Lancaster 2/2.

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