Bolts hand Bulls first SA Rugby U20 Cup defeat

The weekend's SA Rugby U20 Cup competition dished up another round of thrilling action which saw a brilliant comeback win for the DHL Stormers Bolts, a first loss of the season for the Vodacom Bulls and a first victory for the Toyota Cheetahs, while the semi-final fixtures for the SA Rugby U21 Shield were also determined.

Playing on Friday, the Cheetahs defeated the Hollywoodbets Sharks GEN 34-33 in Bloemfontein. On Saturday, the Stormers Bolts had to dig deep for their thrilling 40-38 win over the Bulls, while the Fidelity ADT Lions beat the Leopards by 50-17 in Potchefstroom.

Despite their first loss, the Bulls still lead the SA Rugby U20 Cup standings on 32 points from six wins, three points ahead of their Gauteng neighbours, the Lions and the Stormers Bolts (29 points). The Sharks GEN have 16 points, followed by the Cheetahs (9) and Leopards (7).

The Cheetahs secured their first victory of the season with a dramatic win over the Sharks GEN at CUT Rugby Stadium on Friday. Holding a narrow 14-12 half-time lead, the Free State hosts were pushed all the way by a KSZN side inspired by flank Luann Olivier, who scored a hat-trick of tries.

The Sharks GEN edged ahead during the second half through tries by Olivier and Junior Bok prop Rambo Kubheka to establish what appeared to be a match-winning advantage.

However, the Cheetahs remained composed and stayed in touch through tries by replacements Dian Venter (hooker) and HG Muller (scrumhalf). A second try by Mokgaotsi Mosiane, converted by Heinz Stockenstrom, reduced the deficit to a single point before the fullback held his nerve after the hooter to slot the winning penalty goal. The result rewarded the home side’s persistence and attacking ambition after a season of near misses.

The Stormers Bolts produced one of the season's most remarkable comebacks to defeat the previously unbeaten Vodacom Bulls U20s at City Park in Cape Town. The visitors appeared in complete control at the break after storming to a 31-7 lead through five first-half tries, capitalising on yellow cards and defensive lapses to leave the hosts with a mountain to climb.

The Stormers emerged from the break with renewed energy and immediately shifted momentum when Junior Bok flanker Gert Kemp crossed for a converted try.

The introduction of replacements proved decisive as Quintin Potgieter and Tyrone Gombe combined for four second-half tries.

Although the Bulls responded through their Junior Bok loose forward Kebotile Maake and continued to threaten on attack, the hosts steadily closed the gap.

Potgieter's second try with time up set up the match-winning conversion, which scrumhalf Jayden Brits calmly slotted to complete a stunning turnaround. The victory blows the race for top spot wide open heading into the closing rounds.

The Lions U20 continued their push towards the play-offs with an emphatic victory over the Leopards U20 at Olen Park in Potchefstroom on Saturday. The visitors dominated the opening half and raced into a 33-5 lead at the break, with their attacking efficiency proving too much for the home side to contain.

The Lions crossed five times before half-time through Marko Kok, Lindelani Nkambule, Thapelo Mphela, McMillen Mongwana and Zenkosi Mthiyane, while flyhalf Matthew Abbey converted four of those scores.

The Leopards showed character after the interval with tries by Handre Maree and Christopher Dennis but they never seriously threatened the Lions' grip on the contest. The Johannesburg side continued to create opportunities despite losing lock Grady Ngui temporarily to the sin bin, with Keenan Myners, Adriano Jackson and captain Luke Kent adding second-half tries.

Round nine fixtures over the coming weekend see the Cheetahs take on Leopards at 2pm on Friday in Bloemfontein. On Saturday, the Lions and Stormers play each other from 11.15am in Johannesburg and the Bulls host the Sharks GEN at 12pm in Pretoria.

Scores

Toyota Cheetahs U20 34 (14), Hollywoodbets Sharks GEN 33 (12)

Cheetahs – Tries: Donelle Hendriks, Mokgaotsi Mosiane (2), Dian Venter, HG Muller; Conversions: Heinz Stockenstrom (3); Penalty: Stockenstrom.

Sharks GEN – Tries: Luann Olivier (3), William Ridl, Rambo Kubheka. Conversions: Iwan Jordaan (4).

DHL Stormers Bolts 40 (7), Vodacom Bulls U20 38 (38)

Stormers Bolts – Tries: Penalty Try; Gert Kemp, Quintin Potgieter (2), Tyrone Gombe (2). Conversions: Jayden Brits (4).

Bulls – Tries: Ronan Bastiaanse, Stefan McDonald, Ruan Enslin, Riwan van Aswegen, Pieter van der Merwe, Kebotile Maake. Conversions: Liyema Nela (4).

Fidelity ADT Lions U20 50 (33), Leopards U20 17 (5)

Lions – Tries: Lindelani Nkambule, Thapelo Mphela, McMillen Mongwana, Zenkosi Mthiyane, Keenan Myners, Adriano Jackson, Luke Kent. Conversions: Matthew Abbey (5).

Leopards – Tries: Eagan Roux, Handre Maree, Christopher Dennis. Conversion: Roux.

Meanwhile, the final two pool games were staged in the SA Rugby U21 Shield competition, with Boland and Eastern Province both emerging successful in their Southern Pool outings.

Playing at home in Wellington, the Bolanders routed Border 78-0 in a one-sided affair on Saturday. EP were also too strong for SWD, winning their encounter 57-19 in George. There were no games scheduled for the Northern Section.

The results leave the Boland and EP equal on 26 points on top of the Southern Pool after six games, meaning they will contest one of two play-offs, with the kick-off in the Southern semi-final arranged for 2pm on Saturday in Wellington.

The Northern semi-final will be staged at the same time between Harmony Griffons and Griquas in Welkom, with the winners of the two playoff games set to meet the following week in the final.