The Vodacom Bulls clawed their way back from the Vodacom United Rugby Championship graveyard to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history, beating Glasgow Warriors 22-21 after being 21-3 down after the first 30 minutes in Saturday’s semifinal showdown at Murrayfield.
To say the first half hour was the worst 30 minutes of the season would be an understatement, but to dig yourself out of a hole that you dug for yourself was something significant. There may be a lot that you can say about this Bulls side, but grit, heart and determination are characteristics they wear firmly on their sleeves.
This has put them in with a chance to break their own duck - they will play in their fourth URC final in five years. There is a two-week break between the semifinal and the final, and they will have a chance to finally get their hands on the trophy that has eluded them for so long.
BACK FROM THE DEAD
As with any epic sporting victory, there were moments of anguish and despair - two yellow cards in the first half, a penalty try and a Bulls side that looked literally as if they were falling apart. But then there was the fightback - the try disallowed for Marcell Coetzee and the tries either side of halftime.
The nudge ahead and then the sheer anguish of double World Cup winner Handre Pollard missing kicks he would normally slot over with his eyes closed. At every opportunity, the Bulls gave themselves the chance to lose this. At every opportunity, Glasgow failed to take those moments in the second half.
In a way it was a bit of revenge for the loss at home in the 2023/4 URC final, where Glasgow arrived at Loftus underdogs and won against the tide. This was similar, and there would have been few after the half hour that would have given the Bulls a chance.
But it was important that they gave themselves a chance. That their resolve was to forge ahead no matter the scoreboard or the yellow cards. That this time - not like the previous two outings at Scotstoun - they would not lie down. This time they would see it through.
And in the end, the grit and the belief paid off.
ACKERMANN’S BELIEF VINDICATED
Coach Johan Ackermann said on Friday when naming his team that through the dark part of the season he still believed - even when the side were on a seven-game losing streak - he still believed.
On Saturday afternoon his side repaid that belief. Not in swathes of tries as they have done all season, but in the grit and determination not to lie down and lose. That says a lot about this side and the coaching staff, and even to the doubters, as Ackermann has now taken this side as far as Jake White did in previous seasons.
What they do next in the final will define them.
And yet, when the final whistle went and the celebrations began, there was more of a sense of relief than the champagne popping that such a comeback deserved. This isn’t the job done yet, but when you win like that, you can walk into any final with confidence.
Because while the Bulls opened the scoring to lead early on, it was Pollard - the same player they had pinned their hopes on because of his experience in leading the Boks to back-to-back World Cups - that let them down.
The pivot had a poor game by his own standards - he gave away a crucial yellow card with an ill-advised arm stretched out to stop a Glasgow attack early in the first half and it cost him 10 minutes in the bin.
POLLARD’S POOR GAME
Those 10 minutes were crucial as a side as clinical as Glasgow punished them before he could get the seat warm in the sin bin. Kyle Steyn crossed twice - both tries coming from a beautiful attack that drew the defence and opened up the space out wide. They were superb tries, but they were against 14 men. The Bulls had paid a heavy price for that outstretched hand.
And then there were the missed kicks. As the Bulls got themselves in front, on three occasions they had very kickable penalties that Pollard lined up.
This was a semifinal after all and scoreboard pressure is at a premium. But three times in a row, he missed the kick, which could have given the Bulls a bit of a safety net.
That was uncharacteristic from Pollard as were the knocks from Nizaam Carr and the pressure calls against some of the teammates.
HEROES STOOD UP
Luckily this was offset by some exceptional play by others. Cameron Hanekom again had a massive game - how the man of the match awards continue to elude him is a mystery.
As did Embrose Papier, who was excellent on his box kicks, dangerous with ball in hand and an all-round weapon for the Bulls. Their scrum was exceptional, although it didn’t get the reward it should have at times, and Ruan Vermaak and Francois Klopper put in a mountain of work.
Johan Grobbelaar had a game for the ages, and celebrated his 150th in style while the bench - Stedman Gans in particular with a wonderful cameo - and Marco van Staden all stood tall.
This was never going to be a pretty win - especially after the first half hour. But by the last 10 of the first half, the Bulls had won their first scrum penalty and the machine started to grind.
It took some big runs by the likes of Marcell Coetzee, Elrigh Louw and Hanekom to power them forward.
They missed out when Coetzee was adjudged to have lost the ball over the line in the 31st minute, but they hit back immediately with Grobbelaar punching over the line two minutes later. It was a telling blow and more significant than we realise.
TRY BEFORE HALFTIME CRUCIAL
This came after Ruan Nortje was off and the Glasgow maul had given them a penalty try and Nortje a yellow card. To be 21-3 down and score with 14 was a statement of intent that wouldn’t be stopped.
The Bulls got in after the break again, with Papier crossing after a sweeping move that had started in their own half. Pollard may have missed the conversion, but the Bulls were now within seven.
And then came Hanekom’s surge - the sheer willpower to set him forward, beating three and kick-starting the momentum for Klopper to eventually go over.
The Bulls were ahead, and they weren’t looking back.
And while the last 20 played itself out as if it was a World Cup game with a one-point margin - South Africans know those well - it was the resolve, pride and grit that kept the Bulls going. And powered them to an unlikely victory, and another final against the odds.
SCORERS
GLASGOW WARRIORS - Tries: Kyle Steyn (2), Penalty try. Conversions: Dan Lancaster (2)
VODACOM BULLS - Tries: Johan Grobbelaar, Embrose Papier, Francois Klopper. Conversions: Handre Pollard (2). Penalty: Pollard.