The Vodacom Bulls shocked the BKT URC last weekend with their victory over the star-studded Leinster team.
Their performance had everything that you need to win knockout rugby matches.
The Bulls had a set piece that they could trust to implement their own plan and to transfer pressure to Leinster by disrupting their strategy, winning a scrum against the head alongside scrum penalties.
Scrum and lineout are your foundations that every play comes from. If you struggle to get on the front foot or win clean ball, you'll struggle for the resulting phases.
When you don’t go forward in rugby, the next option is to kick to space. That’s harder to find when you’re not crossing the gain line because the defence is comfortable and they can read the kick that bit easier by dropping off a defender early. Leinster tend to kick early anyway, so it was less a result of the Bulls early defensive dominance and more that Leinster chose to kick.
However, they lost the kicking battle in the air and for territory. The Bulls came with their own clear intent in the kicking game and dominated Leinster in those exchanges, challenging in the air and using kick passes to get to softer edges.
Willie Le Roux was outstanding for the Bulls, backing Goosen up as either first or second receiver. The understanding of the two experienced strategists was clear, they had full control over the game in the opening quarter.
The Bulls strategy was so obvious, but also difficult to deal with. Leinster’s defence is very compact and the space has always been on the edges or in behind if you can get the ball there. The Bulls didn’t wait and see, they kicked cross field very early. And when they won the ball, they kicked back to where it came from.
This worked in two ways. The space was there, so they were able to get away from Leinster’s congested midfield defence and run them ragged in the opening exchanges.
It was a possible ploy to run the legs off Leinster’s defence as well, knowing that the altitude would work against Leinster and tire them out in the last quarter.
The kicking game was topped off by Goosen’s form off the tee. In knock out rugby, you must take every point on offer. There’s a psychological aspect of an in-form kicker as well. The opposition know they can’t give away a penalty anywhere near their own half. It may have been some of the reason why Leinster didn’t hold the ball and kicked frequently, despite struggling to win the kicking exchanges at times.
It wasn’t just a kicking game, Goosen threw big rangy passes over the head of Leinster wingers and Willie Le Roux was out in the wide channels to convert with his wingers, although there was a try disallowed for an earlier, a needless exchange at a ruck where Van Staden tackled Ross Byrne for no reason.
Willie Le Roux also drifted infield to receive passes from Goosen and throw passes of his own. He had more of a floating role than what we come to expect from a full back in wider channels. For 60 minutes, the Springbok’s experience was evident and went a long way towards the Bulls winning the game.
We saw the Bulls aerial threats in the quarter-final against Benetton. We saw it again last weekend, as expected against Leinster. They scored the all-important, match winning try from a simple contestable box-kick, which Peterson beat Ciarán Frawley to, and the score remained 25-20.
It wasn’t all kicking, the Bulls attacking intent was powerful. Their spark in attacking transition was lethal, and when they went to the wide channels it felt as though they would score at any stage.
Their second try just after half-time was a big blow to Leinster. A second phase attack down the short side, executed to perfection with depth in attack to get away from Ryan Baird and a kick in behind to finish it off. It was pre-planned. Leinster focus heavily on the open sideline speed pressure and playing back down the shorter side can get you away from that line speed. The Bulls exposed that area and finished the try expertly.
In any game and particularly knock out rugby, a game plan is important. However, it’s only as powerful as the communication and execution of it.
For it to come together, there must be a clear vision from Jake White and clear communication of that vision to the players. The players must then understand it and implement it under pressure. The Bulls leaders stood up and ensured that was the case.
It helped that they were emotionally charged and physically fronted up too. Leinster struggled to cross the gain line when they eventually managed to hang on to the ball in the second half. The Bulls tackle effectiveness and their commitment to the breakdown made it very difficult for Leinster.
And with all that said, Leinster were still in a game late on. It was 17-17 at the 60-minute mark. They were never out of reach of the game, although it did feel like they were chasing the Bulls for the whole thing.
It was certainly a case of the Bulls putting their stamp on the game and not letting Leinster get into their rhythm. The talk will be about how Leinster didn’t show up, but the Bulls ensured that they couldn’t. Their stubborn passion was heard in the player of the match interview with Cameron Hanekom. It was a personal battle for them, and it meant a lot to defend their home ground.
Their reward for doing so is to play in South Africa once more, in a league final.
Getting to the emotional pitch to beat Leinster will take a lot out of a team, as it did for Glasgow to go to Thomond Park, so both teams in the final should be in the same position.
Getting back to baseline this week and getting back up for the weekend after a hugely emotional response can take a lot out of a team. However, you’d hope they can do it once more for a league final in front of their own fans.
The URC is a highly competitive league, that is all the better for the inclusion of the South African teams. They’ve featured in every final since their reintroduction in 2021 and will do so once more this weekend.
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