The Irish giants, Leinster, extended their lead at the top of the United Rugby Championship table on Friday night with a convincing 47-14 win against the Bulls in Dublin.

This was certainly a match that was worthy of Test quality at times as the team from the Irish capital city opened at nine point gap at the top of the summit with five rounds remaining before the playoffs.

The first half of the match between the first and second placed teams was a competitive one with the Bulls holding a 14-12 lead, but in the second stanza it was one-way traffic for Leinster.

In the second stanza Leinster scored five unanswered tries to showcase their dominance of the URC.

The Springbok winger, Kurt-Lee Arende scored a try for the Bulls in the 34th minute, and their other points came via three Johan Goosen Penalties. The Leinster scrumhalf Luke McGrath was yellow carded in his attempt to deny Arendse’s try for head-on-head contract in the  tackle. McGrath was very lucky only to receive a yellow because he was upright in the tackle, while he made contact with force. This has been a topic of depart throughout the evening.

Josh van der Flier and Ronan Kelleher each scored  tries for the home side in the first half, while Harry Byrne converted one try.

Delicious Johan Goosen step followed by a trademark Kurt-Lee Arendse sprint to the line ??

Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby are lightning up the RDS ????#BKTURC #URC | #LEIvBUL pic.twitter.com/dnzXi3IL2X

— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) March 29, 2024

In the second stanza the scoring was opened as soon as the 43rd minute with the Ireland international James Lowe crossing the whitewash, while two minutes later Michael Milne dotted down.

Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan and Lian Turner also scored tries as well, as Leinster romped to victory. Harry Byrne converted a further two tries, while Ross Byrne also sent three conversions through the uprights.

Meanwhile, on Saturday at 15:00 the Sharks will target back-to-back wins when they face Edinburgh at Kings' Park in Durban. At 17:05 the Ospreys will face the Lions in Swansea, while at 19:15 the Stormers will be in action against Ulster at the Cape Town Stadium.

Scorers

Leinster: Tries - Josh van der Flier, Ronan Kelleher, Jame Lowe, Michael Milne, Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan, Liam Turner Conversions - Harry Byrne 3, Ross Byrne 3

Bulls: Try - Kurt-Lee Arendse Pen. - Johan Goosen 3

Morgan Piek OFM Sport