Rampaging Bulls did not allow Leinster find a rhythm in URC semi-final

The Vodacom Bulls shocked the BKT URC last weekend with their victory over the star-studded Leinster team.

Their performance had everything that you need to win knockout rugby matches.

The Bulls had a set piece that they could trust to implement their own plan and to transfer pressure to Leinster by disrupting their strategy, winning a scrum against the head alongside scrum penalties.

Scrum and lineout are your foundations that every play comes from. If you struggle to get on the front foot or win clean ball, you'll struggle for the resulting phases.

When you don’t go forward in rugby, the next option is to kick to space. That’s harder to find when you’re not crossing the gain line because the defence is comfortable and they can read the kick that bit easier by dropping off a defender early. Leinster tend to kick early anyway, so it was less a result of the Bulls early defensive dominance and more that Leinster chose to kick.

However, they lost the kicking battle in the air and for territory. The Bulls came with their own clear intent in the kicking game and dominated Leinster in those exchanges, challenging in the air and using kick passes to get to softer edges.

Willie Le Roux was outstanding for the Bulls, backing Goosen up as either first or second receiver. The understanding of the two experienced strategists was clear, they had full control over the game in the opening quarter.

The Bulls strategy was so obvious, but also difficult to deal with. Leinster’s defence is very compact and the space has always been on the edges or in behind if you can get the ball there. The Bulls didn’t wait and see, they kicked cross field very early. And when they won the ball, they kicked back to where it came from.

This worked in two ways.