Glasgow Warriors rallied back from 16-7 down to pull off the unthinkable and beat the Vodacom Bulls to claim their first Vodacom United Rugby Championship trophy with a 21-16 win at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Warriors were by far the better side, made a mockery of the altitude factor and produced a masterclass in controlled physicality and attack to dash the Bulls' hopes of their first title.
In it Glasgow followed up Munster’s success in South Africa last year to kill the hometown dreams of a capacity crowd.
🏆 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐠𝐨𝐰 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 #𝐕𝐔𝐑𝐂 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 🏆
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 22, 2024
They defeat the Vodacom Bulls 21-16 to clinch the title at Loftus. pic.twitter.com/adVcth9um6
Franco Smith should take a bow. This was an amazing tactical performance, as he returned to the ground where he became a Springbok and guided Glasgow to a famous victory on the turf he calls the perfect rugby ground.
And for so long it looked as if it wouldn’t happen. The Bulls went up 13-0 and were cruising, only to lose their way before halftime and let Glasgow score.
And then in the second half when they were nine points up, a series of missed tackles, errors and rookie mistakes brought the Scottish side back into the game.
And Glasgow could have won by more if Jack Dempsey’s intercepted try late in the second half was allowed to stand.
An early tackle on Kurt-Lee Arendse was ruled, and Dempsey’s 60 metre run was chalked off.
BULLS TOOTHLESS IN SECOND HALF
In the end this wasn’t a night that was going to be the Bulls' moment of glory.
Because for the umpteenth time in the season they folded in the second half and allowed the opposition back into the game.
While the Bulls won’t want to admit it, too many sides have overcome the altitude factor and rallied back and finished stronger at Loftus Versfeld. This was just another example of that.
It was a night where Glasgow’s sheer willpower took them home.
They were more focused, made more metres on attack, found holes in the Bulls' defence and simply were the better side on the night.
There was no argument either. The Bulls will know they were well beaten and for the second time in three years will have to go back to the drawing board.
Even though it came back to a defence of a maul in the dying minutes, there was always a sense the Bulls didn’t have the firepower to pull it through.
👏 Joy for the Glasgow Warriors
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 22, 2024
😭 Heartbreak for the Vodacom Bulls
The final maul had everyone on the edge of their seats.#VURCFinal pic.twitter.com/S8mZiLLJWg
GLASGOW DESERVED CHAMPIONS
Games often run in shifts of momentum and on the night the Bulls gave up too much to Glasgow and simply looked toothless for a large part of the second half.
And at Loftus, the Bulls' fortress, the team that scored 80 tries in the season - a new record - could only score one, while their opponents scored three.
That, and the fact that the stadium DJ muted any advantage the capacity crowd would have given the Bulls, played right into Glasgow’s hands.
When you have a partisan home crowd backing you, playing 80 minutes of music takes them out of the fight.
Sometimes, in the search for stadium entertainment, host teams need to simply let the crowd watch the game and get into the action rather than trying to make them dance for 80 minutes.
But that alone would not have saved the Bulls. They were beaten. Glasgow were better and few would argue about it.
They had raced to 13-0 up, thanks to two Johan Goosen penalties and a bullocking try from Marco van Staden, who raced off the back of a lineout to barge his way over the line.
Sheer POWER from Marco van Staden 😤
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) June 22, 2024
🦬 The Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby have the opening try in the Grand Final! @Vodacom | #URC | #BULvGLA pic.twitter.com/zvBzhGjoBm
There was a close one by Wilco Louw, where replays couldn't say if he had grounded the ball and the try wasn’t given.
And for all their dominance, even the 13-0 scoreline seemed to be too little before Scott Cummings scored on the stroke of halftime.
The Bulls were a beaten team, heads dropping in the 60th minute when a critical error from kickoff gave Glasgow the tonic they needed.
After Goosen had put them 16-7 up, Elrigh Louw dropped the kickoff into Arendse, who played the ball and gave away a penalty.
Glasgow simply took the penalty and pumped it into the corner, and the best maul in the competition did the business by rumbling over the line and making it 16-14.
You could almost see the Bulls' heads drop at that moment.
Minutes later the duo of Sebastian Cancelliere and Josh McKay, both who had terrorised the Bulls defence all night, were combining again, shifting the Bulls' defence left and right before Cancelliere’s pass beat Sergeal Petersen to find Kyle Steyn, who passed inside for Huw Jones to score.
⚔️ @GlasgowWarriors playing with freedom and style!
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) June 22, 2024
Jones scores as they take the lead for the first time in Pretoria 👀@Vodacom | #URC | #BULvGLA pic.twitter.com/m2EIadwpIN
That was all it needed for Glasgow to hold out as the one-off runners were easily picked off and the lack of penetration started to weigh against the stadium clock.
And all they needed to do was hold out. And they did. Giving the competition another massive shock and storyline of a remarkable season.
And while this wasn’t the Bulls' night, it was a remarkable run.
Glasgow were deserved champions, the URC remains the best league with more twists and turns than a soap opera.
On Saturday night a new champion was crowned. A one-time favourite of Loftus Versfeld, Smith got the victory his coaching deserved.
And while Loftus filtered out disappointed, they were treated to an epic final. And they knew it.
The celebrations will run long into the night for the Glasgow Warriors 🎉🎊🥳
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 22, 2024
A remarkable feat away from home 🏆#VURCFinal pic.twitter.com/Ugzqdtj9oP
Scorers
Vodacom Bulls - tries: Marco van Staden. Conversions : Johan Goosen. Penalties: Goosen (3)
Glasgow Warriors - tries: Scott Cummings, George Turner, Kyle Steyn. Conversions : George Horne (3)