In the URC final, Glasgow Warriors claimed the United Rugby Championship for the first time since 2015, defeating the Bulls in a tightly contested match with a final score of 21-16 at the completely occupied Loftus Versfeld.
The Warriors’ road to the Grand Final had seen them win against the Stormers, the initial winners of 2022, and the current champions, Munster. This victory, marked by an impressive performance in Pretoria, allowed them to avoid a third defeat in the final event.
The two teams were initially divided by two penalties from Johan Goosen. However, a try by Marco van Staden, aided by a conversion from Goosen, provided the Bulls, who had been previously defeated by the Stormers in the 2022 final, with a 13-0 advantage.
Glasgow managed to fight back into contention right before half-time. Scott Cummings’ powerful play led to a touch down, and the extra points were added by George Horne. Goosen’s third penalty pushed the Bulls’ lead to nine and despite Glasgow responding with tries from George Turner and Huw Jones, both converted by Horne, it was Glasgow who eventually took the victory.
The Bulls had a strong track record at Loftus Versfeld, with only one loss in their previous 12 URC games. They began the match in control with Goosen scoring inside the first 100 seconds. They held onto this momentum with another successful penalty, and even though Wilco Louw was stopped short of a try by the TMO, Marco van Staden soon broke through Glasgow’s defense to add to the scoreboard – again boosted by Goosen’s kick.
Resilient Glasgow managed to score through Cummings’ try, converted by Horne, right before the break. This seemed to motivate Glasgow who started the second half strongly. When the Bulls breathed easy with yet another Goosen penalty, Glasgow soon cut the lead down via Turner’s efforts, again converted by Horne.
Horne also converted Jones’s try, which resulted in Glasgow taking the lead for the first time in the match. Despite the TMO rejecting Jack Dempsey’s late try, Glasgow, navigating the final stretch with Tom Jordan benched due to a high tackle on Francois Klopper, held on to their lead and stood up to the Bulls’ final thrust to finally secure the championship.