The Bulls pulled off a remarkable victory against the indomitable Leinster in their United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday.
With two seconds left on the clock, the Bulls were two points behind and had to watch Leinster put the ball into the scrum. Incredibly, after a number of resets, they dominated the hit and earned a scrum penalty, which David Kriel slotted for the narrowest of victories in the 84th minute.
It was Leinster’s first defeat of the season and a huge feather in the cap of the Bulls outfit. Speaking to the press after the match, coach Jake White hailed the character of his charges.
“Most teams might have thought, ‘That’s it, game gone’. Most teams would’ve accepted that Leinster would’ve finished the game off,” said the World Cup-winning coach.
“And they didn’t. How much price can you put on a team that says, ‘Forget it, we are going to get a scrum penalty here’?
“And that is all I was asking. Just make sure that today we are desperate to get a result. I want to see for 80 minutes that you are desperate for a result. I don’t want to see anything else.
“We needed a scrum penalty in the last play of the game, and they needed to put the ball in and out, and kick the ball out.
“And after two resets, we managed to get the penalty on the third scrum, To grind out a win when it all looked over and done with is a testament to a side that never gave up hope and kept on fighting.
“For 80 minutes, even with 14 men, they found a way to win. And let’s be fair – that’s what sport is about. The good far outweighs the negative.”
The win sees the Bulls maintain their third place on the URC table.
