The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers kept the South African flag flying high in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday as they booked their places in the semi-finals with commanding home victories in a gripping quarter-final weekend.
Unfortunately, the Fidelity Securedrive Lions’ campaign came to a heartbreaking end against a ruthless Leinster outfit in Dublin, and in the first quarter-final, played on Friday, the Glasgow Warriors defeated Connacht.
The results mean the Vodacom Bulls will travel to Scotland to face log leaders Glasgow at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Saturday (15h30), while the DHL Stormers will take on Leinster in Dublin (18h30).
The Vodacom Bulls set the tone for the round with a dominant 45-14 dismantling of Munster in Pretoria on Saturday, while the DHL Stormers held off a determined Cardiff side 44-21 in Cape Town.
The Fidelity Securedrive Lions, meanwhile, were outclassed 59-10 by Leinster in Dublin, which brought down the curtain on their campaign, although they could still be proud that they reached their first-ever Vodacom URC playoff.
Bulls produce masterclass to power past Munster
The Vodacom Bulls produced a commanding all-round display to dispatch Munster 45-14 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, running in six tries to two, to book their place in the semi-finals and extend their winning run in the Vodacom URC to seven matches.
Johan Ackermann’s charges set the tone from the opening exchanges and never relinquished control, combining a sharp attacking edge with a powerful scrum and driving maul to keep the visitors at an arm’s length throughout.
The home side struck early through Embrose Papier, who twisted his way out of a tackle to touch down close to the posts in the fourth minute, and they doubled their lead when sharp vision from Willie le Roux sent Kurt-Lee Arendse racing away to use his pace and finish in the corner.
Munster, however, refused to fold and hit back with two tries early in the second quarter, while the hosts could only score a penalty goal by Handre Pollard.
The Vodacom Bulls’ forwards took charge in the closing stages of the half, with Johann Grobbelaar rumbling over from a maul in the 34th minute, and Cameron Hanekom powered across shortly after from another strong driving maul to stretch their lead to 31-14 going into the break.
The hosts picked up where they left off after the interval, with Papier grabbing his brace in the 53rd minute after snatching the ball from the base of a ruck and sprinting clear to the line, before Stravino Jacobs rounded off the scoring in the 58th minute as he gathered a slick pass out wide to seal the comprehensive 45-14 victory.
Scorers:
- Vodacom Bulls 45 (31) – Tries: Embrose Papier (2), Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johann Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Stravino Jacobs. Conversions: Handre Pollard (6). Penalty Goal: Pollard.
- Munster 14 (14) – Tries: Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Nankivell. Conversions: JJ Hanrahan (2).
Stormers stand strong against committed Cardiff
The DHL Stormers delivered a gutsy performance to overcome a determined Cardiff side 44-21 at the DHL Stadium on Saturday, booking their place in the semi-finals in a hard-fought but ultimately convincing encounter.
The Capetonians dominated the early exchanges and applied sustained pressure on attack, but they struggled initially to convert their advantage into points as Cardiff proved resolute in defence.
The visitors struck first, but the DHL Stormers responded emphatically, with André-Hugo Venter crashing over from a powerful rolling maul in the 24th minute to level matters.
Ntuthuko Mchunu then darted through from a lineout to crash over at pace in the 28th minute as the home side took control, and it wasn’t long before Cardiff’s ill-discipline saw them reduced to 14 men in the 31st minute, which Leolin Zas punished by racing down the touchline to stretch their lead to 21-7 at the break.
Cardiff refused to go quietly in the second half, pulling back to 21-14 from a scrum close to the hosts’ tryline, before Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu settled the home side’s nerves in the 51st minute, dashing to the tryline after taking a well-timed pass.
The Welshmen kept scrapping and reduced the gap to 26-21 from a rolling maul after an hour of play, but a second yellow card for Cardiff proved decisive as Paul de Villiers powered over to break the game open. Jurie Matthee extended their lead with two penalty goals and JJ Kotze scored the last try to round off a deserved 44-21 victory.
Scorers:
- DHL Stormers 44 (21) – Tries: André-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Paul de Villiers, JJ Kotze. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3), Jurie Matthee. Penalty goals: Matthee (2).
- Cardiff 21 (7) – Tries: Cam Winnett, Taine Basham, James Botham. Conversions: Ioan Lloyd (3).
Lions bow out as Leinster prove too strong in Dublin
The Fidelity Securedrive Lions’ historic first Vodacom URC playoff campaign came to a disappointing end at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday as a clinical Leinster outfit ran riot to win 59-10, running in nine tries to two by the Johannesburgers.
The Lions started the contest with real intent, running hard and competing fiercely, but Leinster’s ability to convert pressure into points proved the difference, as they crossed twice in the opening quarter to lead 14-0.
The Lions had some reprieve when Leinster were reduced to 14 men following a yellow card for a dangerous tackle in the 34th minute, and Henco van Wyk pounced from a pick-and-go after sustained pressure close to the line to get the Gauteng side on the scoreboard.
Leinster, however, continued to threaten and scored on the stroke of halftime to take a 21-5 lead going into the break.
The hosts came out like a house on fire after the restart, stretching their lead with a wide try and an intercept score in quick succession to move 33 points clear.
Unfortunately for the Fidelity Securedrive Lions, their evening suffered a further blow as Quan Horn was yellow-carded for an intentional knockdown, and Leinster pounced immediately with a maul try to move 40-5 clear.
Despite this, the Johannesburgers continued to show their fighting spirit with Van Wyk grabbing his brace from a smart kick-through in the 56th minute, but it was a mere consolation as Leinster ran riot with three more tries before the final whistle to secure the emphatic 59-10 victory.
Scorers:
- Leinster 59 (21) – Tries: Dan Sheehan, Hugo Keenan, James Ryan, Scott Penny, Sam Prendergast, Gus McCarthy, Jimmy O’Brien, James Lowe (2). Conversions: Prendergast (7).
- Fidelity Securedrive Lions 10 (5) – Tries: Henco van Wyk (2).
Hyper
Cricket became an Olympic sport in 1896. However, no matches were held because there was an insufficient number of teams who attended. Had the sport been played that year, cricket would have earned the distinction of being the only team sport to be played at the time. The first Olympic match in the next Olympics (1900) was participated in by the men’s teams. Great Britain (represented by the Devon and Somerset Wanderers) won gold.
Spoiler Betty
Sport Trivia: Who won the Comrades Marathon 9 times? Answer: Bruce Fordyce – completed 23 Comrades Marathon runs and won 9 times between 1981 and 1990. He has also won the London to Brighton marathon and set a world record over 55 miles.