The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers made it two out of two against the Emirates Lions and Hollywoodbets Sharks respectively in entertaining Vodacom United Rugby Championship derbies in what marked their second outings against one another in as many rounds.
Adding to the atmosphere at the matches, the Stormers and Sharks celebrated their roots sporting their school socks in the first of two Origin Rounds where the players’ rugby heritages were celebrated, while the Lions and Bulls supported CANSA care and support programmes for those affected by cancer through the popular Shavathon initiative.
Both matches were played on Saturday, with the Bulls breaking away in the second half following a tight first half against the Lions in Johannesburg for a bonus-point 25-10 victory, while the Stormers held off a late comeback by the determined Sharks for a nail-biting 25-21 victory in Durban.
🎙️Thoughts from the skipper.#LIOvBUL
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) February 17, 2024
💙🐃 #BackTheBulls @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/lEFp9WFnQq
Following all the matches in the round, Leinster cemented their position at the top of the standings on 39 points, while the Bulls (third on 35) and Stormers (sixth on 30) are in the top-eight.
The Lions are in 11th spot (24 points) and the Sharks still occupy last place (10 points) despite coming away with a losing bonus point on Saturday.
In the South African Shield, the Stormers lead the charge on 17 points from their four derby matches, but they are closely followed by the Bulls on 15 points.
Job done in another tough coastal derby in Durban. #SHAvSTO #iamastormer #dhldelivers @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/GjgI6hp4Pn
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) February 17, 2024
STRONG SECOND HALF EARNS BULLS BONUS-POINT WIN
A strong second half set up the Bulls for a valuable 25-10 URC victory against the Lions at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday, marking their second win in a row against their Gauteng rivals in the Jukskei derby.
The Pretoria outfit entered the break with a narrow 5-3 lead after scoring one try to a penalty goal by the hosts, but they broke away in the second half scoring three tries to only one by the Johannesburgers to snatch the bonus point, which could prove to be vital in the second half of the competition.
The first half was competitive as both teams tried to make their presence felt on attack and backed it up with solid defence, and this saw Springbok speedster Canan Moodie score the only points for the visitors, while the hosts responded with a second-minute penalty goal by Sanele Nohamba.
The Vodacom Bulls dominated the second half and made the most of their try-scoring chances, which saw Akker van der Merwe, Marcell Coetzee and David Kriel cross the tryline – the last of which was minutes before the final whistle – to add to a penalty goal by Johan Goosen.
David Kriel former Eikestad Primary youth brings the magic! 🪄
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) February 17, 2024
Vodacom @bluebullsrugby@vodacom #URC | #OriginRound | #GrassrootToGreatness | #LIOvBUL pic.twitter.com/ncr8KxnUFr
The Lions, in turn, only scored one try as Quan Horn pounced on a loose ball from a Vodacom Bulls mistake over the try line to take their score to 10 points.
Quan Horn doing Quan Horn things 🥵
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) February 18, 2024
From @Paarl_Boishaai, Horn has been on fire the Emirates @LionsRugbyCo!@Vodacom #URC | #OriginRound | #GrassrootToGreatness pic.twitter.com/3MpHQaVBzD
They had another opportunity to score in the dying seconds after Moodie received a yellow card for foul play, but the ball was held up over the chalk, which saw the Vodacom Bulls walk away with the encouraging 25-10 win.
SCORERS
Emirates Lions 10 (3) – Try: Quan Horn. Conversion: Sanele Nohamba. Penalty goal: Nohamba.
Vodacom Bulls 25 (5) – Tries: Canan Moodie, Akker van der Merwe, Marcell Coetzee, David Kriel. Conversion: Johan Goosen. Penalty goal: Goosen
STORMERS HOLD OUT IN COASTAL DERBY HUMDINGER
The Stormers survived a strong fightback by the Sharks in a humdinger of a Coastal derby in Durban on Saturday for an encouraging 25-21 victory after leading 15-7 at the break of their URC clash.
Both teams scored three tries, but two vital penalty goals by the Stormers' Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu handed them the edge on the scoreboard in the end.
The Capetonians dominated the opening quarter applying pressure at will on attack and forcing the KwaZulu-Natalians, and this paid off with two tries within six minutes by Joseph Dweba and Paul de Wet for a 12-0 lead in the 23rd minute.
Joseph Dweba, you beauty! 😍
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) February 17, 2024
The former HTS Louis Botha schoolboy shows pace, power and timing to open the scoring for @TheStormers ⚡️@vodacom #URC | #OriginRound | #GrassrootToGreatness | #SHAvSTO pic.twitter.com/uGJUqoWouc
The Sharks fought back with intent and missed out on a possible opportunity in the 27th minute, but they made sure to use the next, with Springbok Ox Nche scoring from a pick-and-go with a smart dive over the ruck.
The Capetonians responded with a penalty goal to take their score to 15 points, and despite the hosts threatening again on the edge of halftime, they entered the sheds 15-7 down.
The Stormers struck first in the second half with their third try by Ben Loader, but the Sharks fought back hard and threatened on several occasions, and this paid off with tries by James Venter and Springbok Bongi Mbonambi, while they limited the visitors to only one more penalty goal for their efforts – although they were a man down for 10 minutes after Leolin Zas received a yellow card.
Ben Loader’s from Reading and he saw this one like an open book 📖 #iamastormer #dhldelivers @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/shwjWNrGZs
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) February 18, 2024
This, however, was enough to snatch the valuable 25-21 away win for the Cape side.
SCORERS:
Hollywoodbets Sharks 10 (7) – Tries: Ox Nche, James Venter, Bongi Mbonambi. Conversions: Curwin Bosch, Siya Masuku (2).
DHL Stormers 25 (15) – Tries: Joseph Dweba, Paul de Wet, Ben Loader. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2). Penalty goals: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2).
OTHER MATCHES
Scarlets 7-42 Munster
Zebre Parma 19-24 Edinburgh
Leinster 47-18 Benetton
Cardiff 12-16 Connacht
Glasgow Warriors 40-7 Dragons
Ospreys 19-17 Ulster