Played in two semifinals of the United Rugby Championship There were two cross matches between Ireland – Leinster and Ulster – South Africa – Bulls and Stormers between last night and this afternoon. Here’s how it went.

Sensational at the Rds Arena in Dublin, where for the first time in five years Leinster did not even take home a trophy. The Dubliners start strong, try with Sheehan for an early 7-0 at 9 p.m. The South Africans reply from the pitch with Smith on the 13th, then go on to score 7-10 on the 19th with Grobelar and the Bulls. The Bulls insisted and led the scrum 7-17 on the 24th. They need to chase down the boys from Dublin, who at the age of 32 reduced it to Henshaw’s goal, sending the teams to rest at 14-17.

However, the match was decided at the beginning of the second half. The Bulls dominated the scoring, but were fouled by James Ryan in the 52nd minute. Penalty goal and yellow card, South Africans run again, Irish with one less. The Bulls failed to find the back of the net, but O’Loglin found Leinster’s third goal in the 70th minute. Sexton scored 19-24 without converting. To dampen the hosts’ hopes, Stein finished 76th in bringing back guests after the break, so Healy’s goal was only for glory and statistics. The final score was 26-27.

Incredible victory at the right time for the Stormers in the challenge against Ulster. Rocket start for Stormers, who found the back of the net 5-0 shortly after 4-0 with Cotsey. The South Africans insisted, the Northern Irish struggled, and in the 13th minute the Russians went 10-0 to give the hosts a second try. Ulster responds and finds his first attempt with a balloon on the 17th. Northern Irish insists Stotomers could not find more space now and that Moore’s scores of 27 would overtake Ulster 12-10. Towards the end of the first half, Cunningham reached 10-15 half-time for Ulster.

Excellent balance at DHL Stadium, the score did not move in the first minutes of the second half. Stormers’ hopes were dashed in the 70th minute when Adre Smith was shown a red card for a foul on Ian Henderson in the I area. In retrospect, the South Africans don’t seem to be able to do much, and Ulster handles the least gain over time. But in the 83rd, the goal came with Gelant, and with the conversion of Libbok, the Stommers beat themselves 17-15..

Photo: Mattia Radoni – LPS