Bulls v Leinster: Five takeaways as hosts’ ‘scrum dominance proves the difference’ to end table-toppers’ winning run.

Following the Bulls’ 21-20 in their United Rugby Championship (URC) derby at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.

The top line

Just like the day’s earlier game – between the Sharks and Zebre Parma – this encounter went down to the wire and this match could have gone either but in the end the Bulls secured the win in dramatic fashion.

The early exchanges were closely fought and the hosts opened the scoring in the third minute via a Keagan Johannes penalty but Leinster replied shortly afterwards courtesy of a Jordie Barrett try which was converted by Ross Byrne.

The rest of the opening half was an arm wrestle with Byrne extending his side’s lead with a three-pointer off the kicking tee before Johannes replied with his second penalty on the stroke of half-time which meant the visitors were leading 10-6 at the break.

Just like the opening period, the second half was a tightly contested affair with Leinster continuing to hold a slight edge and soon after the restart they were rewarded again when Andrew Osborne scored their second try and Byrne’s conversion put more daylight between them and their hosts.

The Bulls’ response was to keep the ball amongst the forwards and in the 57th minute they were awarded a penalty try after Leinster illegally collapsed a maul close to their try-line.

They continued with that tactic and were rewarded once again when Johan Grobbelaar dotted down off the back of a maul but David Kriel’s conversion attempt was off target which meant the hosts held a slender 18-17 lead.

Things then went awry for the Bulls in the 75th minute when Sebastian de Klerk was red carded for taking out Osborne in an aerial challenge. Shortly afterwards, the hosts strayed offside on defence and Leinster thought they had won the game when Byrne slotted the resulting penalty.

However, the Bulls would have the last laugh as they were awarded a scrum penalty after the full-time hooter had gone and Kriel slotted the resulting penalty which secured the result for his side.

Bulls’ scrum dominance proves the difference

From the outset the home side’s dominated at scrum time with Sprinboks tighthead prop Wilco Louw – who has delivered several outstanding scrummaging performances throughout the season – leading the way in that department.

The Bulls used the scrum as an attacking weapon as they either opted to kick for posts when awarded a penalty or for touch where their powerful maul came into play and both their tries were scored from the set-piece close to Leinster’s try-line.

Louw in particular was having a field day in his direct duel with Jack Boyle as the Bulls’ excellent scrummaging eventually yielded five penalties in their favour.

Included in those was the last one which the Bulls deserve plenty of credit for as it was a collective effort from the entire pack and gave Kriel the opportunity to slot the match-winning kick.

Will Connors empties the tank for Leinster

There were several outstanding individual performances from both sides but Connors deservedly walked off with the official man-of-the match award after he emptied the tank during the full 80 minutes.

The Ireland back-row delivered an outstanding all-round display as he took the fight to the Bulls as a ball carrier with some powerful runs while he also caught the eye with a high work-rate one defence.

The 28-year-old put in several big hits in that department and also made his presence felt in the breakdown battle. However, although his tireless work on either side of the ball was eventually rewarded with an individual award, he would surely trade it for the victory which his side came so agonisingly close to achieving.

Sebastian de Klerk loses the plot

The match was evenly poised during its latter stages when the Bulls speedster gave chase to a high ball and took out an aerial Andrew Osborne, who was gathering a high ball at the time.

It was a clumsy challenge from De Klerk and there was a high degree of danger as his direct opponent landed on his head which left referee Ben Whitehouse no choice but to issue a red card after a discussion with the TMO Ben Breakspear.

And although the Bulls showed great character to clinch the victory, despite finishing the encounter with 14 players, De Klerk’s could easily have cost them the match and he is sure to spend a lengthy stint on the sidelines after an appearance in front of the United Rugby Championship‘s disciplinary committee for that offence.

So near yet so far for Leinster

The Irish province came into this encounter in a confident mood as they are sitting pretty at the top of the URC standings and they made a bright start to the game.

Leinster held the upper hand in most facets of play – with the scrums being a noteable exception – as the opening half progressed with the likes of captain Luke McGrath, Byrne and Jordie Barrett impressing with their playmaking skills and game management.

They were on course for victory but the Bulls would not surrender and came back strongly during the game’s latter stages with their scrum paving the way to victory.

The visitors’ senior coach Jacques Nienaber said earlier in the week he expected Test-match intensity from this clash and that’s exactly how it turned out to be.

In the end, the match could have gone either way but the Bulls deserve credit for not surrendering despite trailing the visitors for long periods.

The result means Leinster eventually taste defeat in the URC after 13 successive victories but they are still sitting pretty atop the standings with five rounds of matches left to play.