SA teams look to build momentum in Vodacom URC

South Africa’s four Vodacom United Rugby Championship teams will look to gain momentum in the cross-hemisphere spectacle this weekend in their second round of matches, as the Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls attempt to build on their home victories last week, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks and DHL Stormers will be seeking their first wins of the season.

The Emirates Lions will host Edinburgh in Johannesburg on Saturday in the first of four matches on a jam-packed day of action for local fans, which will be followed by 2023/24 runners-up, the Vodacom Bulls, hosting Ulster in Pretoria, the Dragons welcoming the Hollywoodbets Sharks to Newport, and Zebre Parma taking on the DHL Stormers in Italy.

The Emirates Lions will enter their match against Edinburgh with confidence after defeating Ireland’s Ulster 35-22 at Emirates Airline Park last week – in which the hosts scored five tries – and given the fact that the visitors have yet to win a match after going down against Leinster and the Vodacom Bulls in the opening two rounds.

Adding to this, the Gautengers boast a good track record against their Scottish visitors, with two wins in their three matches, while they suffered a narrow one-point defeat against them in the only game they lost. The hosts, however, will be wary of the fact that all three of those matches were decided by no more than six points.

The Emirates Lions will expect Edinburgh to be more acclimatised to the highveld conditions this week after suffering a six-point defeat against the Vodacom Bulls last week. The hosts will know first-hand how desperate the Scots will be to change their fortunes in the competition after accumulating only three log points in the first two rounds and winning only two games on South African shores in 2017 and 2022 respectively.

The fact that the visitors suffered narrow defeats of only two and six points in their opening two matches, will motivate them even more going into the game, which will set the scene for a gripping encounter.

The Vodacom Bulls will also be expecting a backlash from Ulster who pipped the defending champions, the Glasgow Warriors, 20-19 in their opening game of the season before heading to Johannesburg last week, when they cross paths at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The hosts will also be well aware of the fact that they need to be accurate on attack and defence to shut out the visitors, who have scored 42 points in their last two outings, and who have won their last two matches between the sides – albeit in Ireland.

The Vodacom Bulls, however, will draw inspiration from the fact that they have suffered only one defeat in the competition at home since April 2023 – and that was in last year’s final – which is a record they will be desperate to keep intact knowing how important home wins are to stay in the running for playoff places in the competition.

EPIC CLASH EXPECTED

In Newport, the Hollywoodbets Sharks will back themselves to bounce back from their narrow 36-30 defeat against Connacht when they take on the Dragons, especially given the fact that they have a 100 per cent win record against the Welsh side in their last four matches in the Vodacom URC and EPCR Challenge Cup respectively.

The KwaZulu-Natalians will, however, be expecting an epic clash against a team that started the competition on a winning note at home against Ospreys before suffering a disappointing 34-6 defeat against log-leaders Leinster – a result they will want to bounce back from strongly.

Fuelling the Durbanites’ motivation, they scored one more point in their one match in the competition than the Dragons in their two outings, so they will have all the motivation they need to win their first game of the season this weekend.

UNBEATEN AGAINST THE ITALIANS

The DHL Stormers, meanwhile, will be wary of Zebre Parma, who will be hunting their second home win in a row to remain in the top eight on the standings following their morale-boosting 42-33 victory against Munster last week after going down by 22-17 against Cardiff away in their opening game of the season.

However, the Capetonians – who suffered a 37-24 defeat against Ospreys last week – are unbeaten against the Italians in the competition after three outings, which included a 37-20 victory at Stadio Lanfranchi, and this is expected to boost their confidence going into the match.

Adding to this, the DHL Stormers will be mindful of the fact that Zebre have not won successive matches in the tournament since January 2021 and have not won back-to-back home games in the tournament since 2018, while their only win against a South African opponent was in November 2023, when they beat Hollywoodbets Sharks 12-10.

All these scenarios are expected to contribute to an exciting third round in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

Match information:

Emirates Lions v Edinburgh

Date: Saturday, 5 October

Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

SA Time: 1:45pm

Referee: Adam Jones

TV: SuperSport

Vodacom Bulls v Ulster

Date: Saturday, 5 October

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

SA Time: 4pm