Full House of Wins for SA Sides

It was a rewarding weekend for South Africa’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship teams as all four franchises claimed bonus-point victories – two at home and two away – to bag a full house for the local teams.

These results mean three of the sides finish the third round in the top eight – albeit the second round of matches for the domestic teams after their opening round fixtures were postponed.

The Emirates Lions got a bumper day of action on Saturday off to a fantastic start with an emphatic 55-21 victory against Edinburgh in Johannesburg, and the Vodacom Bulls continued to hold the fort as they racked up a 47-21 victory against Ulster in Pretoria.

Abroad, the Hollywoodbets Sharks kept the SA flag flying high as they scored a try in the dying seconds for a valuable 33-30 victory against the Dragons in Newport, and the DHL Stormers maintained their unbeaten record against Zebre Parma by defeating the Italians 36-5.

Sublime first half sees Emirates Lions play Edinburgh off the park

A sublime first half by the Emirates Lions saw them blow Edinburgh off the park in their 55-21 Vodacom United Rugby Championship victory at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday, with the hosts running circles around Scots, which they backed up with a solid defensive effort to earn seven tries to none by the visitors in a completely dominant first half for 48-0 halftime lead.

They added their eighth try late in the second half to finish the match with an impressive tally while allowing the visitors only three, although they had to weather a determined fightback by the opposition in the second half in which they scored all their points in 22 minutes.

With their forwards and backs coming doing their bit to give the team a strong platform to build from, Rabz Maxwane scored a hat-trick – two tries in the first half and one in the closing stages of the match – while Springbok wing Edwill van der Merwe scored a brace to add to tries by fellow new Bok Quan Horn, Rynharndt Jonker, and Franke Horn.

Their other first-half points were compliments of a penalty goal by Wolhuter in the third minute.

Edinburgh fought back strongly in the second half retaining possession and running hard at the Emirates Lions, and this combined with their solid forward play saw them touch down three times to take their score to 21 points, while they shut out the hosts on defence for most of the second stanza.

The Emirates Lions, however, kept fighting until the end and this paid off with their eighth try by Maxwane, who used his speed to wrap up his hat-trick and secure the Johannesburgers’ their second victory in a row in the competition.

Scorers:

• Emirates Lions 55 (48) – Tries: Rabz Maxwane (3), Edwill van der Merwe (2), Quan Horn, Franke Horn, Rynhardt Jonker Conversions: Kade Wolhuter (3), Sanele Nohamba (2), Morne van den Berg. Penalty Goal: Wolhuter.
• Edinburgh 21 (0) – Tries: Grant Gilchrist, Patrick Harrison, Ben Muncaster. Conversions: Ben Healy (2), Ross Thompson.

Vodacom Bulls overpower Ulster for second Vodacom URC win

The Vodacom Bulls produced a solid performance all around to outplay Ulster 47-21 at their fortress Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, with the hosts building up a 21-7 halftime lead, and they continued to make their presence felt and capitalise on their chances in the second half to outplay the Irish giants.

The win marked the 2023/24 finalists second in a row this season, and they will be particularly impressed with their attack which saw them score seven tries while limiting the visitors to three – only one of which was scored in the first half.

The Vodacom Bulls forwards laid a strong foundation up-front, and this was supported by a well-rounded backline performance.

Springboks Kurt-Lee Arendse and Johan Grobbelaar touched down two of the side’s first three tries, with David Kriel adding the other, although their last try of the first half by the Bok hooker was scored when the visitors were down to 14 men after receiving a yellow card.

The second half was more competitive as Ulster hit back with intent and tried to apply more pressure on attack and this allowed them to add two tries, but in the end the Vodacom Bulls’ four tries to two in the second stanza – by Bok winger Canan Moodie, Cameron Hanekom, Boeta Chamberlain, and Bok flanker Elrigh Louw saw the visitors suffer the heavy defeat.

The victory saw the men from Pretoria build on their impressive home win record in which they suffered only defeat since April 2023 in the competition.

Scorers:

• Vodacom Bulls 47 (21) – Tries: Kurt-Lee Arendse, David Kriel, Johan Grobbelaar, Canan Moodie, Cameron Hanekom, Boeta Chamberlain, Elrigh Louw. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain (3), David Kriel (2), Keagan Johannes.
• Ulster 21 (7) – Tries: Jacob Stockdale, Ben Carson, Stewart Moore. Conversions: Nathan Doak, James Humphreys (2).

Hollywoodbets Sharks score at the death to shut out Dragons in Newport

The Hollywoodbets Sharks were forced to dig deep until the final whistle in their second Vodacom United Rugby Championship match in Newport against the Dragons, with the team staging a dramatic second-half comeback from 22-12 down at halftime to register a memorable 33-30 victory.

The first half was an entertaining affair with both teams trying to make their presence felt, but the Dragons’ finishing gave them the upper hand to score outscore the Durbanites three tries to two.

The Dragons took advantage of their pace out wide and good inter-play, and this saw them touch down three times in the opening 38 minutes to build up an encouraging 22-5 lead.

The Hollywoodbets Sharks, however, snuck in their second try shortly before halftime after showing good intent on attack as they strung together impressive phases on attack and got close to the home side’s tryline on a few occasions. But it was eventually Bok scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse who touched down under the posts after a great break out wide initially and good support play, which allowed them to reduce their deficit to 22-12 going into the sheds.

The second half was a humdinger as the teams threw everything at one another, and it was no surprise that the match came down to the wire with the visitors scoring a try in the last rally to seal the invaluable away victory.

The KwaZulu-Natalians’ comeback was impressive as the team showed tenacity throughout the half, and this paid off with four tries to only one by the hosts.

Had it not been for at least two narrow misses close to the tryline, they could have had the match wrapped up before the end, but they kept on fighting until the end with replacement hooker Fez Mbatha gathering a knock-on by the Dragons after several phases on attack by the KwaZulu-Natalians close to the tryline to dart over the chalk for the nail-biting 33-30 victory. 

Scorers:

• Dragons 30 (22) – Tries: Taine Basham, Chris Coleman, Rhodri Williams, Ben Carter. Conversions: Lloyd Evans (2). Penalty Goals: Lloyd Evans, Will Reed.
• Hollywoodbets Sharks 33 (12) – Tries: Vincent Tshituka, Jaden Hendrikse, Jurenzo Julius, Ethan Hooker, Fez Mbatha. Conversions: Siya Masuku (4).

DHL Stormers build innings to beat Zebre Parma in Italy

The DHL Stormers built up a patient innings against Zebre Parma before finding their rhythm and breaking through the defence for a bonus-point 36-5 victory at Stadio Lanfranchi on Saturday to secure their first win in the competition and maintain their good track record against the Italians in the northern hemisphere showpiece.

The Capetonians gained steady momentum in the first half with Jurie Mathee slotting three penalty goals in the first 27 minutes before they scored the opening try of the match by Leolin Zas on the stroke of halftime to take a morale-boosting 16-0 lead.

The visitors showed enterprise on attack and applied pressure on the hosts, who did well to stand their ground, and although it took patience, they did well to take their chances as they arose before finding their momentum in the second half.

The late first-half try gave them the boost they needed going into the second half in which they scored three tries to only one by the home side, the first by Suleiman Hartzenberg, before Zas earned his brace, and Angelo Davids sealed the bonus point with two minutes left to play.

Scorers:

•  Zebre Parma 5 (0) – Try: Simone Gesi.
• DHL Stormers 36 (16) – Tries: Leolin Zas (2), Suleiman Hartzenberg, Angelo Davids. Conversions: Jurie Mathee, Damian Willemse. Penalty Goals: Mathee (4).