There are several reasons why the Bulls are better positioned to win this time round.
Bulls players celebrate after their URC semifinal win over Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield Stadium over the weekend. Picture: Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images
The Bulls are in a better position to clinch their long-awaited United Rugby Championship (URC) title than it might appear from the onset.
They will play their fourth URC final next Friday after previously falling short against the Stormers, Glasgow Warriors and Leinster.
While they face Leinster again at Croke Park in Dublin, they are not the same side that were hammered 32-7 last season.
The Bulls are brimming with confidence they didn’t have before under new coach Johan Ackermann, and they now have five fit and firing Springboks who were either not available or not on their roster then.
Stormers offer hope
The Stormers also showed that Leinster are not as invincible in Ireland as their reputation suggests.
The understrength Cape side fought from 13-0 down and trailed Leinster 13-11 for about 20 minutes during their semifinal at Aviva Stadium.
They were well in the game until poor discipline (red card given to Ruan Ackermann for a dangerous cleanout) and a harsh call (yellow card given to Salmaan Moerat for accidentally kicking the ball out of Jamison Gibson-Park’s hands) saw Leinster gain the ascendancy and score the try that put them nine points ahead.
This season, Leinster were whipped 31-14 at home by Munster and were pushed to the brink by Edinburgh and Ulster in the URC, as well as La Rochelle and Toulon in the Champions Cup.
The Bulls will also take confidence from their comeback 22-21 victory over Glasgow Warriors in their semifinal in Scotland.
Like Leinster, Glasgow had only lost one home game this season before that semifinal, which was the Champions Cup quarter-final against Toulon.
Eight-game winning streak
The Bulls overcame a 21-3 deficit to beat Glasgow, albeit on a grass surface in Edinburgh, to extend their URC winning streak to eight matches.
They took a similar run into last year’s final, but now boast Springboks Gerhard Steenekamp, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Handré Pollard, Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom.
Almost all of the Bulls’ first-choice players are available and most are in form, this time.
Many will remember the heartache of last year’s final. But being able to produce the comeback victory they did to put to bed their 2024 heartache at the hands of Glasgow, one might bet on them doing the same to Leinster.
