The Fidelity Securedrive Lions and Vodacom Bulls made strong statements of their intent in a round of mixed fortunes for the South African teams in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship as they achieved significant victories, while the DHL Stormers and Hollywoodbets Sharks stumbled in matches that could have big implications in their campaigns.
The Fidelity Securedrive Lions registered the biggest upset of the weekend in the fourth-last round of pool matches as they thumped log-leaders the Glasgow Warriors 54-12 in Johannesburg to leap into fourth position on the standings on 48 points to work themselves in contention for a possible home quarter-final, while the Vodacom Bulls outplayed the Dragons 47-7 in Wales to remain in eighth place (45 points).
The DHL Stormers, meanwhile, had their hopes of reclaiming the top position on the table dashed as they suffered a disappointing 33-24 defeat against Connacht in slippery conditions in Cape Town, but they managed to remain in second place on the standings with 51 points, level with the third-placed Leinster.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks’ hopes of reaching the playoffs sustained a huge blow as they went down 21-17 against the Opsreys in Wales. This result knocked them one place down the table into 11th place, level on 34 points with the Welsh outfit.
With only three pool rounds remaining, the DHL Stormers remain in a strong position to secure a playoff spot, while the Emirates Lions will be in a comfortable position to make the playoffs for the first time if they register one more victory.
The Vodacom Bulls still have their destiny in their own hands despite ninth-placed Connacht trailing them by only one point, but the Hollywoodbets Sharks find themselves in a tough spot with only a mathematical chance to force their way into the playoffs, which would require winning all of their remaining matches with bonus points, while other teams will have to stumble along the way.
With only four points separating the fourth to ninth-placed teams, the competition is set to come down to the wire.
Dominant second half steers Bulls to bonus point win against Dragons
A sublime second-half performance saw the Vodacom Bulls build on a narrow 12-7 lead against the Dragons at Rodney Parade on Friday to claim a commanding 47-7 victory, scoring seven tries to only one by the hosts.
The first half was fairly balanced as both teams created opportunities on attack, with Embrose Papier crossing the chalk for the visitors in the 11th minute from a pick-and-go at a scrum, while the Dragons’ only points of the match were scored in the 23rd minute from a stunning pass out wide, which saw them take advantage of a hole in the defence.
They had to work hard for that try, however, as they were shut out three times previously close to the tryline in the opening quarter.
The scramble for dominance continued as the half progressed, but the Vodacom Bulls took the lead shortly before halftime as Johann Grobbelaar scored from a rolling maul, handing them a 12-7 halftime lead.
It was one-way traffic in the second half as the Vodacom Bulls took full control of the match and capitalised on most of their try-scoring chances, which saw Marco van Staden score a brace from strong forward play to add to tries by Marcell Coetzee, Devon Williams, and Sergeal Petersen, while they denied the hosts a single point to bag the vital bonus-point 47-7 victory.
Scorers:
- Dragons 7 (7) – Try: Fine Inisi. Conversion: Cai Evans.
- Vodacom Bulls 47 (12) – Tries: Embrose Papier, Johann Grobbelaar, Marcell Coetzee, Marco van Staden (2), Devon Williams, Sergeal Petersen. Conversions: Handre Pollard (3), David Kriel (3).
Disappointment in the Cape as Stormers go down to Connacht
The DHL Stormers’ tough week following the loss of their team manager, ‘Chippie’ Solomon, last week, was compounded on Saturday as they suffered a 33-24 defeat against Connacht in wet conditions at the DHL Stadium, which saw them fail to come away with a single point from the encounter.
It was a tight scramble, with the home side taking a 10-7 lead going into halftime, but three late tries by the Irishmen saw them close out the match with a bonus-point victory.
The first half was hard-fought as both teams tried hard to break through the defence, and they each scored only one try in the opening stanza before a penalty goal by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu handed the Capetonians a narrow halftime lead.
The DHL Stormers started the match on the back foot as Deon Fourie received a yellow card for making head contact in a tackle in the fifth minute, and this paved the way for Connacht to score the first try of the match two minutes later. The Cape side hit back shortly after as Evan Roos snatched a fantastic pass to level the scores.
While mistakes at crucial times cost the DHL Stormers from adding to their score, their strong defence held Connacht out from scoring a possible second try, and in the end, the difference between the teams on the scoreboard going into the break was Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s penalty goal.
The teams continued to throw everything at one another in the second half, with Ntuthuko Mchunu and the visitors scoring within eight minutes of one another, both from strong pick-and-goes, and it was again a three-point game with over 20 minutes to play.
The closing stanza was nail-biting as Feinberg-Mngomezulu weaved through the defence for a third try, but this was cancelled out by three tries in a row by Connacht, which secured them their bonus point and sealed a rewarding 33-24 victory to ensure that they remain in the race for a quarterfinal spot.
Scorers:
- DHL Stormers 24 (10) – Tries: Evan Roos, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3). Penalty goal: Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
- Connacht 33 (7) – Tries: Shamus Hurley-Langton, Paul Boyle, John Devine, Ben Murphy, Sean Naughton. Conversions: Sam Gilbert (4).
Lions produce masterclass against Glasgow in Johannesburg
The Fidelity Securedrive Lions delivered a performance worthy of high praise against the Glasgow Warriors, as they thumped the Vodacom URC log-leaders 54-12 in a commanding display at Ellis Park, scoring a whopping eight tries to two by the Scots.
The Johannesburgers made a strong statement from the outset, scoring the first of their four first-half tries in the sixth minute, and they backed this up with a gallant defensive effort to limit Glasgow to only one try for a morale-boosting 26-7 lead at the break.
Henco van Wyk delivered the first salvo in the sixth minute as he crashed through a defender to touch down, and Erich Cronje followed four minutes later from an effective pass out wide for a 12-0 lead.
Van Wyk struck again shortly before the second quarter from a beautiful skip pass, before Glasgow forced their way through for their first try, but this was cancelled out on the stroke of halftime as SJ Kotze crashed over the tryline and extended the hosts’ lead to 26-7 going into the sheds.
The Gautengers continued to shine early in the second half with Ruan Venter darting through to the tryline from a lineout to secure their bonus point try and take a handy 33-7 lead.
This, however, fuelled Glasgow’s determination and they hit back with their second try in the 58th minute to trail 33-12, but this did not stop the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions from fighting, as Van den Berg, Sibabalwe Mahashe, and Quan Horn dashed through to the tryline in the closing 12 minutes to inflate their score to 54-12.
Scorers:
- Fidelity Securedrive Lions 54 (26) – Tries: Henco van Wyk (2), Erich Cronje, SJ Kotze, Ruan Venter, Morne van den Berg, Sibabalwe Mahashe, Quan Horn. Conversions: Chris Smith (7).
- Glasgow Warriors 12 (7) – Tries: Dan Lancaster, Stafford McDowall. Conversion: Josh McKay.
Sharks pay the price for slew of errors against Ospreys
The Hollywoodbets Sharks were left gutted at the Electric Brewery Field as a string of unforced errors cost them a 21-17 defeat against Ospreys, in a match in which both teams scored three tries apiece, with the difference on the scoreboard being two missed conversions by the Durbanites.
The first half was intense as both teams ran hard at one another on attack and used their tactical kicking game to try to gain ascendancy, and although the Ospreys entered the break 14-12 up after both teams crossed the whitewash twice, the Hollywoodbets Sharks will rue two realistic opportunities that could have given them the upper hand.
The Durbanites threatened to score early on and supported this with a brave defensive effort, but a smart kick and great interplay saw the Ospreys score first in the 11th minute.
Phepsi Buthelezi cancelled this out with the South Africans’ first try in the 19th minute from a driving maul, but the conversion went wayward, leaving them trailing by 7-5.
Both teams crossed the chalk in the second quarter, with Ospreys touching down from a rolling maul, while Ethan Hooker gathered a turnover against the run of play close to the KwaZulu-Natalians tryline to score under the posts on the stroke of halftime, which saw the home side enter the sheds 14-12 ahead. Unfortunately for Hooker, the try marked the end of his contribution to the match as he left the field with a shoulder injury.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks’ woes continued in the second half as they missed out on three possible chances to score in the third quarter, and then found themselves 21-12 down, as the Welshmen scored from a well-timed intercept in the 54th minute.
The Durbanites finally found their momentum on attack as Buthelezi crossed the tryline for his brace from a rolling maul in the 69thminute, but the conversion attempt went wide once again, leaving them trailing four points with less than 10 minutes to play.
Their hopes of securing a late victory were dashed completely as a costly knock-on saw Ospreys secure a turnover to snatch the 21-17 win.
Scorers:
- Ospreys 21 (14) – Tries: Dan Edwards, Jac Morgan, Garyn Phillips. Conversions: Edwards (3).
- Hollywoodbets Sharks 17 (12) – Tries: Phepsi Buthelezi (2), Ethan Hooker. Conversion: Jean Smith.
Twinkle Cocoa
Sport Trivia: What sport would you associate Brian Mitchell with? Answer: Boxing – Brian Mitchell won the WBA junior lightweight title in 1986, and ended up defending it successfully 12 times which in itself was a world record. He retired undefeated in 1991 with 46 wins, one loss, and two draws.
Cross Thread
None Knows What Happened to Hansie Cronje: People who have been following South African sports for a long time must know that Hansie Cronje was behind match-fixing in 2000. Soon after the dark secret got revealed, he died in a plane crash in 2002. Many experts say it was a planned murder by the criminals behind the scandal. But due to lack of evidence, none can prove the actual cause of death, and it still lingers in the history of South African sports as one of the biggest mysteries.