Glasgow Warriors clinched the United Rugby Championship title for the first time since 2015 after a hard-fought 21-16 victory over the Bulls at a sold-out Loftus Versfeld.
After beating 2022 winners Stormers and defending champions Munster to reach the Grand Final, the Warriors avoided a third finals defeat with a fantastic performance in Pretoria.
Two Johan Goosen penalties separated the teams before Marco van Staden’s try, converted by Goosen, gave the Bulls – beaten by the Stormers in the 2022 final – a 13-0 lead.
Johan Goosen helped the Bulls get off to a fast start in the final, where they took a 13-0 advantage.
Glasgow got themselves back into the game just before half-time when Scott Cummings blasted his way over the line, with George Horne adding the extras.
Goosen’s third penalty extended the Bulls’ lead to nine points, but tries from George Turner and Huw Jones, both converted by Horne, saw the Warriors emerge triumphant.
How Glasgow won URC glory
The Bulls, who had lost just one of their last 12 URC matches at this venue, led within 100 seconds thanks to Goosen’s penalty. A successful second kick followed before Wilco Louw was denied a try by the TMO, who felt he had been held up by Rory Darge.
But the Bulls were not denied moments later when Van Staden forced his way through the Glasgow defence, with Goosen slotting home the conversion.
Glasgow responded well and gave themselves a lifeline moments before the break when Cummings crossed and Horne converted. Buoyed by this scoreline, Glasgow came out strong in the second half, but another penalty from Goosen brought some relief to the Bulls.
Minutes later, however, the Warriors reduced the gap to just two points when Turner, in his final appearance for the club, scored a maul, which Horne converted.
Jones then grabbed Glasgow’s third try, with Horne again successful from the tee, to lead for the first time in the match before Jack Dempsey was denied another by the TMO.
Horne went close with a long-range penalty attempt, but Glasgow had to see out the final moments with 14 players after Tom Jordan was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Francois Klopper. The Scottish side survived late pressure from the Bulls to be crowned champions.
