It was a case of mission accomplished for South Africa’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship franchises as they completed their second successive clean sweep of home wins in another memorable and significant round of action in the cross-hemisphere showpiece.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks set the tone for the round with a 21-15 victory against Cardiff in Durban on Friday, and the Vodacom Bulls built on this with a bonus-point 34-31 win against Munster in Pretoria on Saturday.
Later, the Fidelity Securedrive Lions registered a full-house of points with their 42-26 victory against the Dragons in Johannesburg, and the DHL Stormers rounded it off with a 33-14 win against Edinburgh in Cape Town on Saturday.
These results saw the DHL Stormers finish round 14 in second place on the standings (51 points) behind the Glasgow Warriors (55), followed by Ulster (47) and Leinster (46), with the Fidelity Securedrive Lions in fifth position on 43 points, courtesy of their fourth successive home win.
The Vodacom Bulls are still in eighth position (40 points), one point behind Cardiff and Munster (41 each), while the Hollywoodbets Sharks hopped one place up into 10th position (33 points) with four pool rounds remaining.
With the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup knock-outs starting next weekend, the Vodacom URC will have a brief hiatus before resuming with round 15 on Friday, 17 April.
SHARKS BAG IMPORTANT WIN
The Hollywoodbets Sharks overcame a series of errors and a determined defensive effort against Cardiff on Friday in humid conditions at Hollywoodbets Kings Park to walk away with a vital 21-15 victory to remain in contention for a possible Vodacom URC playoff spot.
However, they still have a big mountain to climb and will need a little bit of luck to break into the top eight with only four pool matches remaining.
The match had its moments, with both sides delivering some good attacking play, especially before halftime. But highlights were infrequent, with many of the errors most likely attributed to the slippery ball.
It was an entertaining first half as both teams tried to make a strong statement on attack and crucial saves on defence, but enterprising and opportunistic play by the Hollywoodbets Sharks saw them outscore the hosts three tries to two to enter the break 21-12 ahead.
The Durbanites opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a maul try by Phepsi Buthelezi, but Cardiff cancelled this out in the 16th minute as they touched down out wide from an impressive set play spurred on by a well-timed cross kick, which saw the teams’ level the scores.
The hosts continued to run hard on attack, but were shut out by the defence, and they were soon down to 14 men as Jordan Hendrikse received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-down. Cardiff pounced on this with their second try from another cross-kick to take a 12-7 lead.
But the visitors’ numerical advantage did not stop Buthelezi from scoring his brace in the 34th minute after snatching the ball from another strong maul to dash through a gap on defence and a flash of brilliance by Yaw Penxe, who darted up-field, managed a smart chip-and-chase, and gathered the ball to score, saw the Hollywoodbets Sharks enter the break with a handy 21-12 lead.
The second half was riddled with errors by both teams, which denied the KwaZulu-Natalians a crucial bonus-point try, despite creating a few opportunities.
Cardiff also fumbled their chances, resulting in the only points being scored in the second half being a penalty goal by the visitors, which was enough to earn them an important losing bonus point as they went down 21-15.
Scorers:
Hollywoodbets Sharks 21 (21) – Tries: Phepsi Buthelezi (2), Yaw Penxe. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (2), Bradley Davids.
Cardiff 15 (12) – Tries: Mason Grady (2). Conversion: Callum Sheedy. Penalty Goal: Ioan Lloyd.
BULLS SHOW GRIT TO HOLD OFF MUNSTER
The Vodacom Bulls showed guts and determination in a competitive Vodacom URC battle against Munster at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, with a flawless kicking display by Handre Pollard earning them a crucial 34-31 bonus point victory.
The first stanza proved to be a real grind as both teams tried to stamp their authority on attack, but were limited by the tenacious defence and handling errors respectively, which resulted in opportunistic runs of play seeing the Vodacom Bulls score two tries to one by the Irish for a 14-7 halftime lead.
Both teams showed their intent early on, running hard on attack, but it took some smart play by Munster to capitalise on an overlap for the first try in the 20th minute, before Embrose Papier scored a fantastic individual try, and he was followed by Canan Moodie thanks to a great break by Stedman Gans while they were down to 14 men after Ruan Nortje received his marching orders.
The match came to life after the break with the teams scoring two tries apiece in a ding-dong third quarter. Papier earned his brace for the hosts before Cheswill Jooste added his name to the scoresheet with a brilliant dash up field for the bonus-point try, and Pollard added a subsequent penalty goal to push the Vodacom Bulls 31-19 ahead with a little over 10 minutes left on the clock.
Munster, however, showed their fighting spirit, which saw them earn their bonus-point try and make it a five-point game, but Pollard gave the men from Pretoria a handy cushion soon after as he slotted his second penalty goal.
The visitors from Ireland kept charging on and scored their fifth try in the dying minutes to settle for a disappointing 34-31 defeat, although they will be pleased that they earned two bonus points from the match.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls 34 (14) – Tries: Embrose Papier (2), Canan Moodie, Cheswill Jooste. Conversions: Handre Pollard (4). Penalty goals: Pollard (2).
Munster 31 (7) – Tries: Sean O'Brien, Tom Ahern (2), Ben O'Connor, Edwin Edogbo. Conversions: Jack Crowley (3).
STRONG SECOND HALF SEES LIONS ROMP HOME AGAINST DRAGONS
A strong second half, in which the Fidelity Securedrive Lions scored four tries to add to two in the first half, earned them a morale-boosting 42-26 bonus-point victory against the Dragons at Ellis Park to continue their fine form at home as the Vodacom URC moves closer to the playoffs.
It was a tense start to the game with neither team able to gain real ascendancy thanks to their consistent attack and desperation on defence, which saw the teams score two tries each, while two penalty goals by Chris Smith gave the Fidelity Securedrive Lions a narrow 18-14 lead going into the sheds.
Siba Mahashe had the first say with a stunning try in the fourth minute as he used his power and pace to bounce off a defender to touch down, but the visitors got even with a converted try 10 minutes later.
A Smith penalty goal put the hosts back in the lead, and Richard Kriel dived past a defender to stretch their score to 15 points, although this was short-lived as the Welshmen struck back with their second try to come within a point of the home side, only to find themselves enter the break with a three-point deficit as a result of another penalty goal by Smith.
The second stanza proved to be a try festival as both teams capitalised well on their opportunities, which paid off with the Fidelity Securedrive Lions scoring four tries in a row by Smith, Nico Steyn and Erich Cronje – two of which were scored when the Dragons were down to 14 men following a yellow card – to two by the visitors.
Steyn secured his brace, and earned the hosts a convincing 42-26 victory. The visitors, however, managed to walk away with a four-try bonus point, but this will be a mere consolation given the tight race for playoff spots higher on the standings.
Scorers:
Fidelity Securedrive Lions 42 (18) – Tries: Siba Mahashe, Richard Kriel, Chris Smith, Nico Steyn (2), Erich Cronje. Conversions: Chris Smith (3). Penalty goals: Smith (2).
Dragons 26 (14) – Tries: Aneurin Owen (2), Rio Dyer (2). Conversions: Angus O'Brien (3).
STORMERS GRIND OUT BONUS-POINT WIN AGAINST EDINBURGH
It was far from a perfect performance, but the DHL Stormers did enough to secure a valuable 26-14 bonus-point victory against Edinburgh at the DHL Stadium to stay in the race for a possible home Vodacom URC quarterfinal should they continue to deliver the desired results in the closing rounds.
The first stanza was fast and furious as the teams showed determination on attack and defence, despite the DHL Stormers dominating territory and possession, and the scoreline rubberstamped this with the sides entering the break level on seven points apiece.
The Capetonians started the match on the back foot as Ntuthuko Mchunu was shown a yellow card in the sixth minute, but despite this, they managed to shut out the visitors on defence.
Had it not been for two wayward penalty attempts by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, they could have taken the lead, but they finally broke through the defence early in the second quarter as Evan Roos received a well-timed pass with an open tryline in front of him to dash through.
It took Edinburgh 10 more minutes to score their first try from an opportunistic intercept, and with neither team able to add to their score before the halftime hooter sounded, the score remained level.
The DHL Stormers had chances to add to their score early in the second half, and they finally broke through again in the 48th minute as Leolin Zas rounded off from a well-timed pass. This, however, was nullified by a pick-and-go by Boan Venter, and the successful conversion saw the Scots take a 14-12 lead shortly before the fourth quarter.
Mchunu, however, wasted no time making up for his time in the sin bin as he sprinted through the defence to touch down for the DHL Stormers’ third try, and Roos dotted down for his brace shortly after to secure their bonus-point try and a handy 26-14 lead with 11 minutes to play.
Deon Fourie inflicted further damage in the dying minutes to take the hosts’ tally to five tries, and that proved to be the final points of the match, sealing the 33-14 win for the Cape side.
Both teams, however, will rue missed opportunities throughout the match, but it will serve as a timely reminder of the areas they need to iron out as the competition progresses.
Scorers:
DHL Stormers 33 (7) – Tries: Evan Roos (2), Leolin Zas, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Deon Fourie. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (4).
Edinburgh 14 (7) – Tries: James Lang, Boan Venter. Conversions: Ross Thompson (2).