Leinster lose second straight game to the Bulls in Pretoria
Kenneth Fox
Leinster came up short in a thrilling 39-31 loss to the 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 the 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 the 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 lea,d which became their platform for victory.
Rhyno Smith landed a last-gasp drop goal as Benetton snatched a 16-14 victory over Glasgow in the United Rugby Championship.
The Scottish side looked on course for consecutive wins following last weekend’s bonus-point success over the Sharks after establishing a 14-3 half-time lead in Treviso.
But replacement full-back Smith dramatically split the posts from distance with the final action, adding to Tommaso Menoncello’s try and eight points from fly-half Jacob Umaga as the Italian hosts bounced back from their round-one loss to Connacht.
Lock Jare Oguntibeju crossed to give Warriors an 18th-minute lead at Stadio Comunale di Monigo, with Adam Hastings slotting the extras.
Benetton briefly responded through an Umaga penalty before full-back Josh McKay’s score, converted by Hastings, put Glasgow in control at the break.
Yet the Warriors paid a heavy price for a scoreless second half as Italy centre Menoncello touched down in the 50th minute before England-born Umaga added the conversion and a later penalty, prior to Smith’s decisive contribution from around 40 metres.
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 4th in Galway will now be postponed to a later date.”