The Vodacom Bulls now have the second-placed finish on the Vodacom United Rugby Championship log that they have so coveted in their hands after a weekend that continued the competition’s script of producing upset results.
With the Bulls, Hollywoodbets Sharks and the DHL Stormers doing what they were expected to do by winning comfortably against Welsh teams, it was left to Benetton to provide the departure for the unexpected. They are always competitive in Treviso, but no one would have expected the team that lost 56-5 to the Stormers in their previous game to beat Glasgow Warriors 33-7.
That result was undeniably great news for the Bulls and Sharks. It enabled the Bulls to overtake the team that has been second most of the season and the reason it is in their hands is because they cannot be overtaken unless they lose their final game against the Dragons. That is not likely to happen against the last-placed team, who were outplayed by the Stormers at the weekend, in Pretoria.
So it now looks almost certain that the Bulls will finish second, meaning that they will host a semifinal should they get that far. What isn’t certain is Glasgow finishing third, because the Sharks have moved to within one point of the Scottish team with Saturday’s game against Scarlets to come.
The catch for Glasgow is that their last game is against Leinster in Dublin, and the beaten Champions Cup semifinalists and URC log leaders showed they are in a mean mood following their EPCR disappointment with a massive win over Zebre. If the Sharks beat the Scarlets and Glasgow lose, then the Sharks finish third. This, apart from giving them a better chance of hosting a semifinal if there’s an upset on the other half of the Finals Series draw, will also more than likely enable them to avoid the Stormers in the quarterfinal.
NOT GOOD NEWS FOR STORMERS
That’s why the Benetton win wasn’t the best news to greet John Dobson and his charges straight after the final whistle to their win in Cape Town. No disrespect to the Sharks is intended when they wish it, but the Stormers have been hoping for and working towards a fifth-place finish in the assumption that the Sharks will finish fourth and therefore set up a Durban showdown between the coastal teams.
That’s for the simple reason that the Stormers’ record in South Africa, even in the games away from home, is excellent, and a stark contrast to their record overseas. Last year, the Stormers came second to Glasgow at Scotstoun in their quarterfinal, and it looks like they will be heading in that direction again.
But while the impact on the log would not have been good news to the Stormers, there is surely some consolation in what is happening to Glasgow. Ever since their 52-0 annihilation at the hands of Leinster in the Champions Cup, Glasgow have looked like a team that have lost their Mojo.
Perhaps the return of some star players will improve Glasgow when they need it, but the Stormers should certainly go there with a chance, particularly given that the bye week the week before will enable them to leave early, as in the Saturday before the game, to lessen the travel impact.
The URC continued on the script of providing upsets as well as an absorbing finish to the league season as it heads into the final round with 10 teams still in with a chance of winning the trophy.
Eight teams make the playoffs, and there are only two points separating eighth-placed Munster from 10th-placed Edinburgh. So it is all to play for as Edinburgh host Ulster on Friday. Ulster were one of the teams, along with the Ospreys and the Emirates Lions, that dropped out of the race because of their round 17 result.
The Benetton win on Saturday effectively killed off the Lions’ hopes on Saturday, so the Lions went into their game with Scarlets at Emirates Airlines Park on Sunday with nothing but pride to play for. Scarlets, by contrast, were playing to stay in the top eight, and that they did as they head to Durban next week, placed sixth.
The vulnerability of that position will be tested by several games spread across what should be an exciting final weekend, starting with the Stormers’ home game against Cardiff on Friday. Cardiff were fifth going into their game but defeat at Loftus sent them to ninth place. However, on 46 points, they are still within touch, although barely, of the now fifth-placed Stormers and can overtake them if they win with a bonus point while denying the Stormers a bonus.
Weekend Vodacom URC results (Round 17)
Hollywoodbets Sharks 29 Ospreys 10
Munster 38 Ulster 20
DHL Stormers 48 Dragons 12
Vodacom Bulls 45 Cardiff 21
Benetton 33 Glasgow Warriors 7
Leinster 76 Zebre 5
Connacht 21 Edinburgh 31
Emirates Lions 19 Scarlets 32
Round 18 fixtures
DHL Stormers v Cardiff (Cape Town, Friday 19.00)
Edinburgh v Ulster (Edinburgh, Friday 20.35)
Munster v Benetton (Limerick, Friday 21.00)
Vodacom Bulls v Dragons (Pretoria, Saturday 15.00)
Emirates Lions v Ospreys (Johannesburg, Saturday 17.15)
Zebre v Connacht (Parma, Saturday 18.00)
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Scarlets (Durban, Saturday 19.30)
Leinster v Glasgow Warriors (Dublin, Saturday 20.35)
Vodacom URC log positions after 17 games
1. Leinster 72, 2. Vodacom Bulls 63, 3. Glasgow Warriors 59, 4. Hollywoodbets Sharks 58, 5. DHL Stormers 50, 6. Scarlets 48, 7. Benetton 46, 8. Munster 46, 9. Cardiff 46, 10. Edinburgh 44, 11. Ospreys 38, 12. Ulster 38, 13. Emirates Lions 35, 14. Connacht 35, 15. Zebre 29, 16. Dragons 8