Bulls and Sharks fly SA flag in the Vodacom URC

The Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks did enough to finish in the top eight on the Vodacom United Rugby Championship standings after an action-packed seventh round.

All three South African teams were in action on Saturday after enjoying a well-deserved break due to the Castle Lager Outgoing Series, and the Pretoria and Durban sides registered morale boosting victories.

The Vodacom Bulls delivered another impressive performance to defeat Connacht 28-14 in Galway, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks held off a determined challenge by the DHL Stormers in Durban for a 21-15 victory in a thrilling South African derby.

The Emirates Lions, meanwhile, suffered their second defeat in six outings as they went down 17-10 against Munster in a tight encounter in Limerick.

These results saw the Vodacom Bulls complete the round in third place on the table with 24 points (trailing log-leaders Leinster by 10 points), while the Hollywoodbets Sharks are now sitting in sixth position with 19 points.

The KwaZulu-Natalians and the fifth-placed Emirates Lions are tied on log point, but the Gautengers have a better points’ difference. The DHL Stormers are 13th after suffering their fourth defeat of the season.

The teams will now switch into Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup mode until the Vodacom URC resumes on Friday, 20 December.

Hollywoodbets Sharks record first Vodacom URC win against DHL Stormers

A combination of capitalising on their try-scoring chances and effective defence saw the Hollywoodbets Sharks hold on for a 21-15 victory against the DHL Stormers in a humdinger, yet error ridden match, on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban.

The Durbanites got off to a strong start, scoring two tries in the opening 16 minutes compliments of Ethan Hooker and Springbok captain Siya Kolisi to take a 14-0 lead.

The visitors applied pressure on the defence from the outset, but the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ defence held strong, limiting the visitors to only a drop goal for their efforts in the opening stanza – although they had two more shots at goal through unsuccessful penalty goal attempts – which saw the home side enter halftime with an 11-point lead.

The DHL Stormers struck back hard four minutes into the second half thanks to a try by Leolin Zas despite being reduced to 14 men shortly before halftime as Ruhan Nel received a yellow card. This reduced their deficit to 14-8, but the home side added their third try in the 58th minute thanks to Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen – minutes after being denied a try by due to obstruction.

The dying minutes were tense as the Capetonians were awarded a penalty try in the final minute as Aphelele Fassi was penalised for a deliberate knock-down while the DHL Stormers were close to the tryline, and this saw the Bok fullback receive his marching orders.

The DHL Stormers tried hard to capitalise further on this advantage, with Manie Libbok touching down under the posts in the final run of play only to be denied the try and the team a possible victory due to a knock-on at a ruck earlier on, but the Capetonians managed to grab a losing bonus point.

SCORERS:

Hollywoodbets Sharks 21 (14) – Tries: Ethan Hooker, Siya Kolisi, Andre Esterhuizen. Conversions: Siya Masuku (2), Jordan Hendrikse.

DHL Stormers 15 (3) – Tries: Leolin Zas, Penalty try. Drop-goal: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Vodacom Bulls outclass Connacht in bonus point win

The Vodacom Bulls continued their fine form in the Vodacom URC as they delivered a classy attacking display against Connacht in Galway on Saturday to register their third win ever against the Irish outfit, outscoring the hosts by four tries to two for a rewarding 28-14 win.

The Gauteng side made a strong statement on attack from the outset, making their way close to the tryline as early as the second minute, and their intent paid off with two first-half tries by Sebastian de Klerk and Embrose Papier – the second of which was after Connacht were reduced to 14 men after being shown a red card for a dangerous tackle. This earned the Vodacom Bulls an encouraging 14-0 lead at the break.

The visitors, however, could have held a bigger lead had it not been for a crucial error close to the tryline and the solid defence respectively, which cost them two realistic chances to score further tries.

They built on this with two more tries in the third quarter compliments on David Kriel and Springbok speedster Canan Moodie, which saw them stretch their lead to 28-0, but a red card to Celimpilo Gumede for shoving a player dangerously in the face, levelled the playing numbers, which allowed Connacht finish the match strongly with two tries in the final quarter to reduce their deficit to 28-14.

Both teams tried hard to add to their score in the dying minutes, but were shut out by the tenacious defence, which saw the Vodacom Bulls walk away with the rewarding bonus-point victory, which marked their fifth in six outings in the competition so far.

SCORERS:

Connacht 14 (0) – Tries: David Hankshaw, Caolin Blade. Conversions: Cathal Forde (2).

Vodacom Bulls 28 (14) – Tries: Sebastian de Klerk, Embrose Papier, David Kriel, Canan Moodie. Conversions: Johan Goosen (4).

Munster end win drought against Emirates Lions in Limerick

Two second half tries by Munster saw them overturn a 10-7 halftime deficit into a hard-fought 17-10 victory against the Emirates Lions in Ireland on Saturday in a Vodacom URC match that went down to the wire and could possibly have ended in a draw.

Munster, who come off three successive defeats, started the clash with intent and immediately placed pressure on the Johannesburgers with their hard running on attack, and although the visitors managed to keep them out during the opening minutes, they finally broke through for their first try in the 15th minute for an early 7-0 lead.

The Emirates Lions fought back strongly, and after missing out on two possible try-scoring chances, they managed to break through the defence compliments of some fancy footwork by Henco van Wyk to level the scores, and they added to their score with a penalty goal by Kade Wolhuter eight minutes before the break to lead by 10-7, which they held onto until halftime.

Munster hit back hard in the third quarter and managed to add two tries to their tally, which nudged them 17-10 ahead, and despite gallant efforts by the visiting side to level the scores and possibly claw their way into the lead, the hosts’ defence held strong, which saw them maintain that score until the final whistle for what marked their first victory in the competition since October when they beat Ospreys.

The Emirates Lions, in turn, will be disappointed with the defeat, however, they will draw some inspiration from the fact that they created at least four possible chances to score as they look ahead to next weekend’s EPCR Challenge Cup encounter against Ospreys in Swansea, and that they earned a valuable losing bonus point.

SCORERS:

Munster 17 (7) – Tries: Thaakir Abrahams, Shane Daly, Alex Kendellen. Conversion: Billy Burns.

Emirates Lions 10 (10) – Try: Henco van Wyk. Conversion: Kade Wolhuter. Penalty Goal: Wolhuter.