Leinster lose second straight game to the Bulls in Pretoria

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