Bulls and Stormers march into URC semi-finals as Lions bow out

The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers kept the South African flag flying high in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday as they booked their places in the semi-finals with commanding home victories in a gripping quarter-final weekend.

Unfortunately, the Fidelity Securedrive Lions’ campaign came to a heartbreaking end against a ruthless Leinster outfit in Dublin and in the first quarter-final, played on Friday, the Glasgow Warriors defeated Connacht.

The results mean the Bulls will travel to Scotland to face log leaders Glasgow at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Saturday (3.30pm SAST), while the Stormers will take on Leinster at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin (6.30pm SAST).

The Bulls set the tone for the round with a dominant 45-14 dismantling of Munster in Pretoria on Saturday, while the Stormers held off a determined Cardiff side 44-21 in Cape Town.

The Lions, meanwhile, were outclassed 59-10 by Leinster in Dublin, which brought down the curtain on their campaign, although they could still be proud that they reached their first-ever Vodacom URC play-off.

The Bulls produced a commanding all-round display to dispatch Munster at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, running in six tries to two, to book their place in the semi-finals and extend their winning run in the URC to seven matches.

Johan Ackermann's charges set the tone from the opening exchanges and never relinquished control, combining a sharp attacking edge with a powerful scrum and driving maul to keep the visitors at an arm's length throughout.

The home side struck early through Embrose Papier, who twisted his way out of a tackle to touch down close to the posts in the fourth minute and they doubled their lead when sharp vision from Willie le Roux sent Kurt-Lee Arendse racing away to use his pace and finish in the corner.

Munster, however, refused to fold and hit back with two tries early in the second quarter, while the hosts could only score a penalty by Handre Pollard.

The Bulls' forwards took charge in the closing stages of the half, with Johann Grobbelaar rumbling over from a maul in the 34th minute, and Cameron Hanekom powered across shortly after from another strong driving maul to stretch their lead to 31-14 going into the break.

The hosts picked up where they left off after the interval, with Papier grabbing his brace in the 53rd minute after snatching the ball from the base of a ruck and sprinting clear to the line, before Stravino Jacobs rounded off the scoring in the 58th minute as he gathered a slick pass out wide to seal the comprehensive 45-14 victory.

Vodacom Bulls 45 (31) – Tries: Embrose Papier (2), Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johann Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Stravino Jacobs. Conversions: Handre Pollard (6). Penalty: Pollard.

Munster 14 (14) – Tries: Jack O'Donoghue, Alex Nankivell. Conversions: JJ Hanrahan (2).

The Stormers delivered a gutsy performance to overcome a determined Cardiff side at the DHL Stadium on Saturday, booking their place in the semi-finals in a hard-fought but ultimately convincing encounter.

The Capetonians dominated the early exchanges and applied sustained pressure on attack but they struggled initially to convert their advantage into points as Cardiff proved resolute in defence.

The visitors struck first but the Stormers responded emphatically, with André-Hugo Venter crashing over from a powerful rolling maul in the 24th minute to level matters.

Ntuthuko Mchunu then darted through from a lineout to crash over at pace in the 28th minute as the home side took control and it wasn’t long before Cardiff's ill-discipline saw them reduced to 14 men in the 31st minute, which Leolin Zas punished by racing down the touchline to stretch their lead to 21-7 at the break.

Cardiff refused to go quietly in the second half, pulling back to 21-14 from a scrum close to the hosts' tryline, before Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu settled the home side's nerves in the 51st minute, dashing to the tryline after taking a well-timed pass.

The Welshmen kept scrapping and reduced the gap to 26-21 from a rolling maul after an hour of play but a second yellow card for Cardiff proved decisive as Paul de Villiers powered over to break the game open. Jurie Matthee extended their lead with two penalties and JJ Kotze scored the last try to round off a deserved 44-21 victory.

DHL Stormers 44 (21) – Tries: André-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Paul de Villiers, JJ Kotze. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3), Jurie Matthee. Penalties: Matthee (2).

Cardiff 21 (7) – Tries: Cam Winnett, Taine Basham, James Botham. Conversions: Ioan Lloyd (3).

The Lions' historic first URC play-off campaign came to a disappointing end at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday as a clinical Leinster outfit ran riot, running in nine tries to two by the Johannesburgers.

The Lions started the contest with real intent, running hard and competing fiercely but Leinster's ability to convert pressure into points proved the difference, as they crossed twice in the opening quarter to lead 14-0.

The Lions had some reprieve when Leinster were reduced to 14 men following a yellow card for a dangerous tackle in the 34th minute, and Henco van Wyk pounced from a pick-and-go after sustained pressure close to the line to get the Gauteng side on the scoreboard.

Leinster, however, continued to threaten and scored on the stroke of halftime to take a 21-5 lead going into the break.

The hosts came out like a house on fire after the restart, stretching their lead with a wide try and an intercept score in quick succession to move 33 points clear.

Unfortunately for theLions, their evening suffered a further blow as Quan Horn was yellow-carded for an intentional knockdown and Leinster pounced immediately with a maul try to move 40-5 clear.

Despite this, the Johannesburgers continued to show their fighting spirit with Van Wyk grabbing his brace from a smart kick-through in the 56th minute, but it was a mere consolation as Leinster ran riot with three more tries before the final whistle to secure the emphatic 59-10 victory.

Leinster 59 (21) – Tries: Dan Sheehan, Hugo Keenan, James Ryan, Scott Penny, Sam Prendergast, Gus McCarthy, Jimmy O'Brien, James Lowe (2). Conversions: Prendergast (7).

Fidelity Securedrive Lions 10 (5) – Tries: Henco van Wyk (2).

FIXTURES

Semi-finals

Saturday

SF1: (1) Glasgow Warriors v (4) Vodacom Bulls @ Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh (2.30pm UK/ 3.30pm SA)

Live on Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv, FloRugby

SF2: (2) Leinster v (3) DHL Stormers @ Aviva Stadium, Dublin (5.30pmUK/ 6.30pm SA)

Live on TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv, FloRugby

URC Grand Final – Saturday, June 20

Winner SF1 v Winner SF2