Edinburgh’s season comes to an end in Pretoria

• 31 May 2025
• News

Edinburgh saw their season come to an end in a valiant and enthralling matchup at Loftus Versfeld, with the hosts eventually winning 42-33 in a thrilling URC quarter-final.

The Vodacom Bulls wasted no time in asserting their intentions, immediately putting Edinburgh under immense pressure with a physical onslaught deep inside the visitors’ 22.

However, their early dominance was short-lived as Sebastian de Klerk was swiftly shown a yellow card for taking out Darcy Graham in the air after the Edinburgh winger had cleverly chipped through.

Edinburgh made the most of their numerical advantage, capitalising within five minutes to grab the first score of the afternoon. After kicking into the Bulls’ 22, the ball was moved swiftly through the hands, and with numbers out wide, Wes Goosen was able to touch down in the corner, Ross Thompson converting to make it 0-7.

The Scottish capital side were playing expansive rugby and nearly crafted an end-to-end score with an exceptional break from their own 22 that almost saw Goosen free Matt Currie.

The Bulls, however, soon got on the scoreboard with Keagan Johannes slotting a simple penalty after 10 minutes to make it 7-3.

Edinburgh stretched their lead further to silence the Loftus faithful just three minutes later. From a secured lineout inside the Bulls 22, Ross Thompson caught a drifting defence napping to power over, converting his own try to make it 3-14 with just 13 minutes on the clock.

The Bulls would not be deterred and responded with their first try on 18 minutes. After a secured lineout, the ball eventually found the powerful Cameron Hanekom, who crashed over. The conversion was wide, leaving the score at 8-14.

Darcy Graham, after an earlier HIA, returned to the fray, but Edinburgh soon had another player in for a head injury assessment as D’Arcy Rae made way.

The Bulls continued to pile on the pressure, but Jamie Ritchie, ever the menace at the breakdown, managed a crucial steal to halt another unrelenting Bulls attack.

The first scrum of the afternoon brought the first scrum penalty, and again, Edinburgh made their great field position count.

A strong carry from James Lang kept the Bulls in reverse, and with quick ball, Ross Thompson was able to cross the whitewash for his second try of the afternoon. Thompson added the extras to make it 8-21.

The Bulls continued to look dangerous on the counter. Le Roux carved through after broken play and found David Kriel, who sprinted in to make it 13-21. The hosts were nearly in again from a wide attack that looked to involve a forward pass, and while they sprinted for the line, great scramble defence from Ewan Ashman forced a knock-on just metres out.

However, the Bulls would not be denied. From a short-side play by Edinburgh, Darcy Graham chipped through, but the Bulls countered quickly.

De Klerk chased his own chip and found Harold Vorster, who touched down in the corner, bringing the score to 18-21.
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The Bulls continued to pressure Edinburgh to close out the first half, but the visitors remained firm, holding their three-point advantage as the whistle blew for the break.

The first half had ended with Edinburgh holding a slender 21-18 lead, but the Bulls shot out of the blocks in the second period with incredible intent.

They grabbed two tries in quick succession to immediately seize control of the match.

First, Canan Moodie got on the end of a clever offload, sprinting in to make it 25-21 and putting the Bulls in the lead for the first time. Moments later, Keagan Johannes sliced through a gap to give the hosts 14 points in just over two minutes – a nightmare start for the capital side.

The Bulls kept their foot on the gas. A pinpoint 50:22 kick gave them excellent field position, and they capitalised by shifting the ball down the short side to skipper Ruan Nortje, who wrestled over, extending their lead to 39-21.

Edinburgh, feeling the pressure and the hot, sticky conditions, started to make errors. Even with the ball in good positions, knock-ons repeatedly brought promising attacks to a frustrating halt.

A scrum penalty finally got Edinburgh back on the front foot. They peppered the Bulls try line with a series of powerful carries and accumulated several penalty advantages.

This relentless pressure eventually led to Ewan Ashman – one of Edinburgh’s most dangerous and powerful carriers all afternoon – crashing over.

With Ross Thompson converting, it made it 39-28 after 59 minutes, with JF van Heerden shown a yellow card in the process for the Bulls.

However, Edinburgh’s numerical advantage didn’t last long. With the Bulls retaining possession deep inside Edinburgh’s 22, Ross Thompson attempted an intercept and illegally knocked on.

The Bulls opted for a simple penalty, extending their lead to 42-28.

Edinburgh soon hit back with an absolute worldie of a try, showcasing their attacking flair.

Darcy Graham displayed his world-class playmaking abilities, finding a gap in the wide channel before breaking 20 metres.

The winger linked up with his trailing teammates. Sam Skinner then threw a beautiful pass out wide to Magnus Bradbury, who powered down the touchline before finding Wes Goosen, who touched down to make it 42-33 in what was proving to be a truly bonkers second-half spectacle.

Despite a Herculean effort the capital men couldn’t cut the deficit any further, with the Bulls progressing to the URC semi-finals.