Late Bulls' charge downs much improved Leinster

Leinster came up short in a thrilling 39-31 loss to Bulls that made it two defeats out of two in the United Rugby Championship, but they took a bonus point from their trip to Pretoria.

In a rip-roaring second half, Leinster scored two tries in the space of three-minutes through Hugh Cooney and then Tommy O’Brien to turn a 22-10 half-time deficit into a 24-22 lead.

The two teams then traded tries as Willie Le Roux put the hosts back in front, Scott Penny replied with a bonus point try for Leinster and then Stravino Jacobs nosed Bulls in front once more, making it a one-point game at 32-31.

Sam Prendergast was narrowly wide with a late drop-kick attempt and David Kriel then intercepted the ball to score a decisive sixth try for Bulls in the 78th minute, making the conversion to put the game out of reach.

In a rematch of the URC final that Leinster won less than four months ago, they had fallen behind to early tries from Sebastian De Klerk and Kriel.

Prendergast’s penalty and a Thomas Clarkson score got them back within two points, but late in the first half Keagan Johannes kicked a penalty and Mpilo Gumede crossed to give the hosts a 22-10 lead which became their platform for victory.

Fixture

United Rugby Championship

Bulls

39 - 31

Full-time

Leinster

All Stats and Data

Meanwhile: Connacht’s game against Scarlets on Saturday was postponed due to disruptions caused by Storm Amy.

A statement on the URC website posted on Friday night read: “Due to major travel disruptions and flight cancellations for the Scarlets caused by Storm Amy, the fixture which was due to take place Saturday October 4 in Galway will now be postponed to a later date.”