Glasgow shock Bulls to win United Rugby Championship – Sport

A dominant second-half performance from the Glasgow Warriors secured a shock 21-16 victory in the United Rugby Championship final against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Scottish team defended and carried the ball fiercely and were never intimidated by a packed house of 50,388 fans at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

Outplayed in the first half and trailing 13-0, Glasgow scored an easy try in first-half injury time through Scott Cummings, and a George Horne conversion reduced the gap to six points.

The Warriors, making a fourth final appearance in the competition with a previous triumph, dominated the Bulls after half-time thanks to George Turner and Huw Jones scoring tries.

Horne converted both and his only blemish was a subsequent long-range penalty attempt which failed.

All the South Africans could answer was a penalty from Johan Goosen, who finished with 11 points from three penalties and the conversion of a Marco van Staden try.

In a frenzied finale, the Bulls forced two lineouts five meters from the Glasgow try line, but were unable to score the try that would have given the teams an equalizer.

The South Africans played a pivotal role for Glasgow with Kyle Steyn as captain and Franco Smith as coach.

“We had a lot of confidence and we stayed there under pressure for most of the first half,” said Steyn, who set up the winning try for Jones in the 63rd minute.

“Our first try at the end of the first half was key and we increased the intensity in the second half.”

Bulls captain Ruan Nortje said: “Thank you to the Warriors, who are deserved champions. We have no excuses.