The Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks provided a ray of light for South Africa’s teams in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in a round of mixed fortunes.
The team from Pretoria registered a hard-fought win against Benetton in Italy, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks made it two out of two at home after outplaying Munster in Durban.
At the top of the leaderboard, it’s Leinster - the only unbeaten team!🔥
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) October 27, 2024
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The Vodacom Bulls scored a late try in a challenging clash against Benetton in Treviso to sneak through for a 17-15 victory on Friday, while a flashy start by the KwaZulu-Natalians earned them a comprehensive 41-24 win against Munster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday.
Incredible comeback by @Cardiff_Rugby! 🎉@vodacom #URC | #CARvULS pic.twitter.com/wIoGjeOKzs
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The DHL Stormers, meanwhile, went down 28-17 against defending champions, the Glasgow Warriors, in Stellenbosch, while the Emirates Lions suffered their first defeat of the competition, going down 24-6 in a table-topping clash against Leinster in Dublin.
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These results saw the Vodacom Bulls finish round six in third position on the standings with 19 points (10 behind log-leaders Leinster), while the Emirates Lions dropped to fourth position on 18 points (tied with the fifth-placed Connacht), while the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ victory nudged them into ninth place with 15 points
The DHL Stormers, meanwhile, continue to languish on the lower end of the table in 13th position on 10 points after recording two victories in their five matches. The teams will have a well-deserved break until the end of November with the international season coming into play over the next few weeks.
Vodacom Bulls pip Benetton to finish tour on high note
Two second half tries – the last of which was in the dying minutes – saw the Vodacom Bulls finish their three-match Vodacom URC tour on a winning note, as they staged a dramatic and patient second-half comeback against Benetton at Stadio Monigo in Treviso for a morale-boosting 17-15 victory.
The first half was a tight scramble as both teams defended with intent, which saw both being limited to only penalty goals in the first stanza, with the Italians slotting three to only one by the men from Pretoria for a 9-3 halftime lead.
The Vodacom Bulls – who were disrupted due to illness hours before kick-off – had two good opportunities to score tries in the first quarter, but knock-ons close to the tryline denied them from crossing the chalk, while Benetton only looked close to scoring only once in the half, but the visitors’ strong defence forced their hosts to make a crucial error, which denied them in return.
The team from Pretoria continued to apply pressure on the Benetton in the second half, and despite losing out on a few more possible chances to score early on and being denied a try in the 57th minute due to a knock-on, they finally found their rhythm on attack to score two unanswered tries by Rynhardt Ludwig in the 72nd minute and Akker van der Merwe minutes from the final hooter respectively, with the successful conversion handing them a 17-15 lead for the first time in the game and the valuable victory.
The South Africans backed up their solid attacking display with great defence, limiting the hosts to only two penalty goals after the break, which saw them inflate their score to 15 points.
Scorers:
Benetton 15 (9) – Penalty goals: Tomas Albornoz (4), Rhyno Smith.
Vodacom Bulls 17 (3) – Tries: Rynhardt Ludwig, Akker van der Merwe. Conversions: David Kriel (2). Penalty goal: Keagan Johannes.
Strong-finishing Glasgow topple DHL Stormers in Stellenbosch
A strong second-half display saw the Glasgow Warriors shut out the DHL Stormers for a vital 28-17 bonus-point victory at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch in a humdinger of a Vodacom URC match on Saturday.
The encounter was a hard grind from the outset as both teams threw everything at one another for the full 80 minutes in an entertaining spectacle, in which the teams entered the break level on 7-7 after each touching down once in the closing 10 minutes of the first stanza, with Bok Damian Willemse crossing the chalk for the hosts.
The second half also proved to be a scramble as both teams threw everything at one another, but the defending champions showed their fighting spirit in the final quarter to claw their way into the lead after trailing 17-14 in the 63rd minute after Bok flyhalf Manie Libbok eased the pressure on the home side with a penalty goal.
The visitors, however, applied waves of pressure on attack, and this paid off with two crucial tries in the closing minutes, which saw them seal the bonus point win after both teams added a try early in the second half which saw the scores tied at 14-14 in the 54th minute.
The DHL Stormers, however, will rue missed opportunities after creating realistic try-scoring chances on a few occasions, which they struggled to capitalise on.
Scorers:
DHL Stormers 17 (7) – Tries: Damian Willemse, Dan du Plessis. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2). Penalty goal: Libbok.
Glasgow Warriors 28 (7) – Tries: Johnny Matthews, Sione Tiupulotu, Kyle Rowe, Henco Venter. Conversions: Adam Hasting (2), Tom Jordan (2).
Hollywoodbets Sharks outplay Munster for second home win
A strong first half by the Hollywoodbets Sharks, in which they scored four tries to bag their bonus point, set them up for an emphatic 41-24 Vodacom URC victory in Durban, after entering the break 31-10 up.
The KwaZulu-Natalians started the match like a house on fire with tries by Springbok speedsters Aphelele Fassi and Makazole Mapimpi in the opening minutes for an encouraging 14-0 lead.
Despite leaking a try in the 18th minute after some good pressure on attack by Munster, the Durbanites continued to spark energy on attack, which saw Bok backs Grant Williams (scrumhalf) and Andre Esterhuizen (centre) dot down before the break to add to a penalty goal by Jordan Hendrikse, while they limited the Irish side to only one more try for a comprehensive 21-point halftime lead.
The home team’s first-half attacking display was impeccable, although they only managed to add one more try in a gripping second half compliments of Vincent Tshituka from a stunning charge-down after being reduced to 14 men for an infringement while Munster were on attack close to the tryline. Their fifth try to add to Hendrikse’s second penalty goal was enough to give them a comfortable buffer before Munster fought back hard in the closing minutes.
With the hosts holding a 41-10 lead, Munster refused to give up and hit back strongly with back-to-back tries – the second after the regular 80 minutes of play – which sealed the valuable bonus point for the visitors, despite going down 41-24 in the end.
Scorers:
Hollywoodbets Sharks 41 (31) – Tries: Aphelele Fassi, Makazole Mapimpi, Grant Williams, Andre Esterhuizen, Vincent Tshituka. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (5). Penalty goals: Hendrikse (2).
Munster 24 (10) – Tries: Tom Ahern, Mike Hayley, Calvin Nash, Tadgh Berne. Conversions: Billy Burns (2).
Leinster pressure proves too much for Emirates Lions in Dublin
Leinster ground down the Emirates Lions in an intense Vodacom URC clash at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday evening as they applied pressure throughout the match, which eventually paid off with two tries and a penalty try to only two penalty goals by the visitors – who must be commended for their brave defensive display for most of the match – for a 24-6 victory.
The win for Leinster has seen them remain the only unbeaten team in the competition, while the defeat for the Emirates Lions marked their first in the competition.
The first half was a tight scramble as both teams tried to create opportunities on attack but were denied by the tenacious opposition defence. The Johannesburgers’ defence, in particular, was tested thoroughly in the first quarter.
This saw both teams resort to penalty goals for their points, and by the 23rd minute, the Emirates Lions held a 6-3 lead thanks to their two successful kicks at goal to one by the hosts.
Such was the quality of the defence, Leinster scored the first and only try of the half in the 31st minute after some strong forward play close to the tryline, which paid off with a pick and go, and this saw them enter the break 10-6 up.
Leinster dominated the second half and created several try-scoring chances, but the resilient Emirates Lions defence held strong for most of the match in wet conditions, limiting the hosts to only one more try toward the end of the third quarter before they were awarded a penalty try on the stroke of fulltime for the 24-6 victory.
Scorers:
Leinster 24 (10) – Tries: Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris, Penalty try. Conversions: Sam Prendergast (2). Penalty goal: Prendergast.
Emirates Lions 6 (6) – Penalty goals: Kade Wolhuter (2).