
The Hollywoodbets Sharks and DHL Stormers made strong statements in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship this weekend, with both coastal teams emerging victorious at home in gripping local derbies.
The Stormers defeated the Emirates Lions 29-10 in Cape Town in what marked their third victory in the competition this season, while the Sharks surprised the third-placed Vodacom Bulls in Durban in an encounter that kept fans in the packed stadium on the edge of their seats in the closing minutes as they broke a 17-all deadlock in the fourth quarter to win 20-17.
These results combined with all the other outcomes over the weekend saw the Bulls hold onto third place on the table – only two points behind the Glasgow Warriors – while the Sharks shot up in fourth place on 23 points, only two behind the men from Pretoria.
The Lions are now in seventh place on 19 points, although the Stormers still find themselves lower down the standings in 13th position with 16 points.
While the Gauteng teams enjoy a short break over the remainder of the festive season, the Stormers and Sharks will be in action on Saturday in an exciting coastal derby in Cape Town in their final games of the 2024.
The Stormers bounced back strongly from a disappointing run in recent weeks with a morale-boosting bonus point victory against the Lions in front of a passionate home crowd at the DHL Stadium after holding a handy 15-0 lead at the break.
The Johannesburgers started off strongly and applied pressure on the hosts’ defence but they were heavily restricted on attack for most of the match after the Stormers found their rhythm – and also having the luxury of an extra man for three quarters after Ruben Schoeman received a red card in the 21st minute for the Gauteng side.
Springbok hooker Jospeh Dweba crossed the chalk twice from strong rolling mauls in the opening 34 minutes, with Suleiman Hartzenberg scoring their other five-pointer in the half from a stunning cross kick to push the Capetonians 15-0 up, which they held onto going into the break.
The Gauteng side fought back strongly in the second half and this paid off with a try by Edwill van der Merwe four minutes after play resumed but they were handed another big blow soon after as Manuel Rass received a yellow card, which left them with 13 players for 10 minutes.
The Stormers took immediate advantage of their numerical advantage with Leolin Zas adding another try, before Franco Marais touched down for the Lions’ second try in the 64th minute.
The visitors continued to fight with everything they had in an attempt to reduce their deficit on the scoreboard in the dying minutes but despite this, the Stormers had the final say with Neethling Fouche rounding off some fantastic team play for their fifth try for a rewarding 29-10 victory.
Score
DHL Stormers 29 (15) – Tries: Joseph Dweba (2), Suleiman Hartzenberg, Leolin Zas, Neethling Fouche. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2).
Emirates Lions 10 (0) – Tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Franco Marais.

The Sharks held on with everything they had in their encounter against theBulls in Durban on Saturday to edge the Pretoria sideby three points in a humdinger of a clash at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
Springbok flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse opened the scoring for the Durbanites in the sixth minute with a penalty and his brother Jaden Hendrikse added their first try 12 minutes later to hand the hosts a 10-0 lead.
The ulls fought back with intent with Cobus Wiese and Harold Vorster scoring back-to-back tries within four minutes and the successful conversions handed them a 14-10 lead.
Had it not been for mistakes at crucial moments before the break, the visitors could have added two more tries but these errors combined with the effective Sharks’ defence denied them.
The second half was particularly hard-fought but a penalty try for the Sharks, after the Bulls infringed over the goal line – which saw them lose Sebastian de Klerk to the sin bin for 10 minutes – levelled the scores at 17-17 with 28 minutes to play.
Jordan Hendrikse eventually scored the winning points of the game with a 69th minute penalty, which nudged the hosts into a three-point lead with 10 minutes to play and they held on for dear life on defence as the Bulls tried hard to breach the defence before the final whistle sounded.
Score
Hollywoodbets Sharks 20 (14) – Tries: Jaden Hendrikse, Penalty try. Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse. Penalties: Jordan Hendrikse (2).
Vodacom Bulls 17 (10) – Tries: Cobus Wiese, Harold Vorster. Conversions: Johan Goosen (2). Penalty: Goosen.
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