Glasgow Warriors came from 13-0 down to beat the Bulls 21-16 in South Africa to win the United Rugby Championship for the first time since 2015. Stream Rugby 2024 with your NOW Sports Month Membership
Last update: 22/06/24 9:02pm
Glasgow Warriors players celebrate with their trophy after winning the United Rugby Championship final in South Africa.
Glasgow Warriors won their first United Rugby Championship title since 2015 after a hard-fought win over the Bulls at a sold-out Loftus Versfeld.
The Warriors, who advanced to the grand final by beating 2022 champions Stormers and defending champions Munster, avoided a third defeat for the national team with a fantastic performance in Pretoria.
A pair of Johan Goosen penalties separated the teams and a Marco van Staden try (Goosen's try) gave the Bulls a 13-0 lead, who lost to the Stormers in the 2022 final.
Johan Goosen helped the Bulls get off to a fast start in the final, where they built a 13-0 advantage.
Glasgow came back into the game at half-time when Scott Cummings crossed the line with George Horne adding an extra man.
Goosen's third penalty increased the Bulls' lead to nine points, but tries from George Turner and Huw Jones, converted by Horne, ensured the Warriors won.
How Glasgow won URC glory
The Bulls, who had lost only once in the last 12 URC games played at this stadium, went ahead to within 100 seconds through a Goosen penalty. A second successful kick followed before Wilco Louw had an attempt denied by TMO, who was deemed caught by Rory Darge.
But the Bulls were not to be denied moments later when Van Staden broke through the Glasgow defense and Goosen converted.
Glasgow responded well and provided themselves a lifeline just before the break when Cummings went over and Horne converted. Buoyed by that score, Glasgow had a strong second half but another Goosen penalty brought some relief to the Bulls.
But minutes later, in Turner's final appearance for the club, the Warriors had reduced the deficit to just two points, with Horn converting.
Jones caught Glasgow's third try and Horne struck again from the tee to take the lead for the first time in the game before Jack Dempsey had another attempt denied by the TMO.
Horne came up short with a long-range penalty attempt but Glasgow had to sit out the final minutes with 14 men after Tom Jordan was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Francois Klopper. The Scottish side survived the pressure from the Bulls to become champions.
Fagerson: I can't put it into words.
Glasgow Warriors' Scottish center Hugh Jones (right) celebrates with tighthead Xander Farguson (right) after scoring a goal against Bulls (Pretoria).
Player of the Match Matt Fagerson: “Words can’t describe how we feel right now. It’s something we’ve been working towards all season and to do it in a historic venue in front of all these fans is beyond words.
“In the last three or four games we’ve really liked playing knockout rugby in terms of not overplaying the ball and that’s what happens when you have a kicker like George Horn. “We’ve taken the difficult route but I wouldn’t change it for the world. .”
Glasgow Warriors Director Franco Smith: “The players played well and agreed. The half-time chat was easy. We knew we had a good plan for the second half. We let them in for mistakes like last week. They stuck to the script.”
“There's a lot to be said for the tenacious dominance of European teams. We brought it tonight, especially in the last 10 to 15 minutes. We defended our line well and put a lot of pressure on the maul. The boys went forward. 50,000 We must be really proud of our very strong South African team of 200 people.
“This team shouldn’t be done after tonight. We have the building blocks to go further.”
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