The Bulls take on Leinster at Croke Park in the URC Grand Final for the second year in succession next weekend.
2025/26 URC Grand Final: URC Final — Will it be fourth time’s the charm for Bulls?
Having already fallen in three of the competition’s four previous finals, can the Pretoria franchise finally get over the line? Or will Leo Cullen’s mighty Irish side back up their title triumph of 2025?
Bulls looking to put an end to final misery
Under Jake White, the Bulls qualified for three URC finals in a highly successful four-year period, albeit where they were never able to go all the way. Supporters of the Herd will be hoping that Johan Ackermann, who took over the coaching reigns from White at the beginning of the season, will have the little something extra they need to become the fifth different winner of the tournament since it began.
The former Springbok forward famously led the Lions to three straight Super Rugby finals, finishing as runners-up on each occasion, and it will be interesting to see if the memory of those defeats has any bearing come June the 20th, and whether Gauteng blue does indeed suit him better than red.
The Bulls will be bidding farewell to a number of players at the conclusion of the campaign, among them the talismanic Ruan Nortje, who has epitomised everything good about the franchise since making his debut back in 2018. The group would oh so love to send the Bok second rower off to Japan with gold medal in hand, but it will take a massive effort against this Leinster side.
Leinster eyeing out successful title defence.
The Dublin team put their seemingly perennial European Rugby Champions Cup final heartbreak behind them to ultimately qualify for another URC decider, and, in the words of prop Andrew Porter, are leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of a second straight title.
Like their rivals this week, Leinster have some key personnel set to appear for the club for the final time, the most notable being Ireland international and loyal servant James Lowe. The New Zealander has made it clear that he’d rather have remained at Aviva HQ, but the decision made by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is final — much to his (and Andy Farrell’s) chagrin.
There has also been much made in the Irish media recently of Jacques Nienaber’s presence at the club, with the World Cup-winning coach expressing his discontent at, in his eyes, having been made the scapegoat for the club’s inability to add to their four European stars since he joined in 2023.
All of these serve as interesting subplots in the buildup to the climax of the season, and although Leinster are heavily favoured to go back-to-back, the Bulls have far too many world beaters and clutch players (enter Handre Pollard) to write off entirely.
Rivalry
The sides have enjoyed a fierce rivalry in the URC over the years, meeting in two previous semi-finals in the seasons prior to the 2025 decider. Overall, it is the men from Pretoria who have edged the head-to-head stakes, winning five of the eight encounters between the sides, with Leinster taking it on the other three occasions.
Aside from last year’s final, in which a rampant Leinster put four tries past a shaky an unhappy Bulls team for an eventual 32-7 win, it is the semi-final in the inaugural season back in 2022 that is perhaps the most famous result in the rivalry.
Nobody gave White’s men a chance on that occasion, with Leinster having topped the overall log by six points during the regular season and playing some sublime footy to boot. But the Bulls showed their enduring class and quality, producing a performance marked by their trademark physicality in contact to come away from the RDS Arena with a one-point 27-26 win.
When the teams clash again on Friday next week, the Bulls will be hoping for another shot at making history in the Irish capital.
Leinster vs Bulls Head-to-head Results
25 September 2021
Leinster 31–3 Bulls, RDS Arena
10 June 2022 (URC Semi-final)
Leinster 26–27 Bulls, RDS Arena
22 April 2023
Bulls 62–7 Leinster, Loftus
29 March 2024
Leinster 47–14 Bulls, RDS Arena
15 June 2024 (URC Semi-final)
Bulls 25–20 Leinster, Loftus Versfeld
22 March 2025
Bulls 21–20 Leinster, Loftus Versfeld
14 June 2025 (URC Grand Final)
Leinster 32–7 Bulls, Croke Park
4 October 2025
Bulls 39–31 Leinster, Loftus Versfeld
Previous URC Grand Final results
2021–22
Stormers 18–13 Bulls
Venue: Cape Town Stadium
2022–23
Munster 19–14 Stormers
Venue: Cape Town Stadium
2023–24
Glasgow Warriors 21–16 Bulls
Venue: Loftus Versfeld
2024–25
Leinster 32–7 Bulls
Venue: Croke Park
URC Finals Record by Winner
Stormers – 1 title
Munster – 1 title
Glasgow Warriors – 1 title
Leinster – 1 title
Overall Grand Final Appearances
Bulls – 3 (0 titles)
Stormers – 2 (1 title)
Munster – 1 (1 title)
Glasgow Warriors – 1 (1 title)
Leinster – 1 (1 title)
