SpringbokSupporter

PodcastProvincialThe Lekker Rugby Pod19 Jun

Harry Jones calls the Bulls' scrum and loose trio to upset Leinster at Croke Park

Harry Jones predicted a 20-15 Bulls upset, arguing their scrum will expose Leinster's front-row crisis and that targeting Jamison Gibson-Park is the tactical key to dismantling Leinster's defensive structure.

PodcastThe Lekker Rugby Pod37 min19 Jun

Harry Jones predicted a 20-15 Bulls upset, arguing their scrum will expose Leinster's front-row crisis and that targeting Jamison Gibson-Park is the tactical key to dismantling Leinster's defensive structure.

Open original episode page →

With the URC Final hours away, Harry Jones made a detailed case for a Bulls upset, predicting a tight 20-15 win built on set-piece dominance rather than backline brilliance. He argued that last year's non-entity Bulls scrum was an outlier directly tied to the Jake White dysfunction, and that the same front-row personnel who dismantled the Irish scrum in November — Steenekamp, Krob laar, Wessels — will find Dan Sheehan's binding issues and a fragile Leinster scrum far more exploitable this time. On the loose trio, Jones rated the Marcel Coetzee–Elrigh Louw–Hanekom combination as at least even with Deegan–van der Vlier–Dorris, and singled out Coetzee as a player with psychological fuel to burn after last year. His tactical prescription: 'muck the ruck' en masse, target Jamison Gibson-Park physically to neutralise Leinster's defensive structure, and let Pollard — not Willaert — dictate territory.

The episode is worth the full listen for Jones's granular breakdown of why Wilco Louw is being held in reserve and what a specific James Ryan card could mean for the match.

Full transcript is being prepared. Check back shortly.

Read the full piece on The Lekker Rugby Pod

Tagged

Related stories

AnalysisProvincial

White: This Bulls squad is better equipped — and they know they can't waste this chance

Jake White makes a personnel-driven case for a Bulls upset on Friday, pointing to five returning Test-calibre starters as the difference from last year's final — while urging the squad to treat this as the chance they may not get again.

AnalysisProvincial

Bulls tipped to end URC final hoodoo — but the scrum is everything

Planet Rugby tips the Bulls to edge Leinster by three at Croke Park, with the set-piece battle — and Porter's absence — framed as the pivotal factor in what should be a far tighter affair than last year's final.

ReportSpringboks

Bulls face Benetton without Coetzee and Arendse as Pollard, Le Roux return

The Bulls face Benetton on Saturday without flu-stricken Marcell Coetzee and Kurt-Lee Arendse, with Pollard, Le Roux and Louw returning to a reshuffled side. A bonus-point win could move them into the top four and earn a home quarterfinal. Willie le Roux plays his 400th first-class match; Stravino Jacobs earns his 100th Bulls cap.

ReportSpringboks

Klopper starts at tighthead as Bulls name experienced XV for Glasgow semifinal

Francois Klopper starts at tighthead ahead of Wilco Louw as the Bulls name 11 Springboks in their starting XV for Saturday's URC semifinal against Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield, with Marcell Coetzee and Johan Grobbelaar both reaching personal milestones in the match.

AnalysisProvincial

Five Bulls who can end the bridesmaid run against Leinster

With the Bulls chasing a first URC title at the fourth attempt, this piece breaks down the five individual performances — Moodie, Pollard, Nortje, Steenekamp and Arendse — that could tip Friday's final against Leinster in Pretoria's favour.