Comfortable home wins for SA teams in Vodacom URC openers

The Vodacom United Rugby Championship kicked off with two wins from four for the South African teams, with the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls victorious on home soil while the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Lions lost on the road.

The Stormers defeated defending champions Leinster by 35-0 in Cape Town on Friday evening, before the Sharks went down 35-19 to the Glasgow Warriors in Scotland.

On Saturday afternoon in Pretoria, the Bulls beat the Ospreys by 53-40 in a high-scoring affair, while the Lions went down 33-20 to Cardiff in the Welsh capital in the late evening game.

Next weekend, Stormers host Ospreys in Cape Town in a 7pm Friday fixture, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks will be in action from 9.05pm against the Dragons in Wales.

Saturday’s big fixture sees the Bulls face Leinster at 6.30pm in Pretoria in a rematch of last season’s final, which the Irish outfit won comfortably in Dublin to lift the Vodacom URC title for the first time. The weekend’s fixtures conclude on Sunday in Italy, where the Lions face Zebre Parma at 4pm.

The Stormers delivered an impressive performance in the opening round of the by gaining a comprehensive bonus-point victory over reigning champions Leinster at DHL Stadium on Friday evening.

Although the scoreboard read a modest 6-0 at half-time due to two disallowed tries and missed kicks, the hosts controlled possession and territory. They made their dominance count immediately after the break when Jurie Matthee slotted a penalty before they pounced on a Leinster clearance error, which led to the opening try for Stefan Ungerer.

Springbok No 8 Evan Roos crashed over for the second try off a driving maul, while the third came from Ruan Ackermann, who made his Stormers debut after a number of seasons abroad.

Leinster's discipline crumbled under the pressure, resulting in two yellow cards that left them playing with 13 men at one stage. Matthee rounded off a superb night by scoring the fourth and final try, taking his personal tally to 20 points, ensuring the DHL Stormers bagged a full five log points.

The Sharks opened their URC campaign with a defeat to the Warriors at the Scotstoun Stadium in Scotland, as a decisive late rally from the hosts secured a deserved bonus-point victory.

The match remained tightly contested for nearly 70 minutes but the Scots finished the strongest. Despite missing several Springboks, the KwaZulu-Natalians showed early promise with new recruit, Edwill van der Merwe crossing for a try early on.

The Bok wing was a standout performer, later combining effectively with experienced Test centre Lukhanyo Am to set up the visitors’ third try, briefly narrowing the deficit to just two points. Vincent Tshituka, who led the Durbanites in his 50th game for the franchise, also scored.

Glasgow, also minus several international stalwarts, eventually found their rhythm through their back row and halfbacks. They scored twice before the break, through Kyle Rowe and Stafford McDowall.

Unfortunately, the Sharks’ discipline proved costly in the closing stages. Replacement loose forward Tino Mavesere received a yellow card for a cynical offside and moments later, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko was also sent to the bin for collapsing a maul.

With their opponents down to 13 men, Glasgow pounced to clinch the match, which up until then was a close-fought, even affair. Rory Darge and Jamie Dobie crossed the line, before a late penalty try sealed the bonus-win for the Warriors.

The Bulls kicked off the new URC season with a victory over Welsh side Ospreys at Loftus Versfeld, marking a successful start to the era of new head coach Johan Ackermann.

Ackermann watched his team overturn an early deficit in a 15-try spectacle as the Pretoria outfit outscored the Welsh visitors by nine tries to six in this high-scoring affair.

The hosts initially struggled with their rhythm and discipline and trailed 26-12 shortly before half-time. However, a crucial Johan Grobbelaar try narrowed the gap, setting the stage for a dominant second-half performance.

The outstanding Grobbelaar helped himself to a well-deserved hat-trick of tries and the Man of the Match accolade. His third try, coming just before the hour mark, decisively put the Bulls ahead 36-26 after Ospreys lock James Fender was yellow carded for repeated infringements.

Bulls skipper Marcell Coetzee led from the front with a brace of tries in the first half. The backline found their rhythm later in the game, with Junior Springbok wing Cheswill Jooste crossing for two tries and experienced Bok centre Jan Serfontein also dotting down. Replacement hooker Juann Else added a final try to push the Bulls past the 50-point mark.

Despite a spirited effort from Ospreys, who scored six tries themselves, they could not contain the relentless forward pressure the hosts applied after the break.

Cardiff delivered a clinical performance to defeat the Lions in a wet URC opener at the Arms Park in the Welsh capital on Saturday night.

The hosts looked the sharper as the game progresses, while the Lions struggled with the conditions, including the bounce of the ball on the synthetic pitch and committed several unforced errors.

The Welsh side built an early lead with tries from Ben Thomas and Cam Winnett, converted by Callum Sheedy for a 14-3 advantage. The Lions fought back through flanker Ruan Venter's try, narrowing the gap to 14-13.

But the game's dynamic shifted when Thomas was shown a 20-miunte red card, via the bunker system, for a dangerous clear-out. Despite the numerical advantage, the Highvelders failed to capitalise fully, though they did take the lead early in the second half when WJ Steenkamp scored off a dominant scrum, putting them ahead 20-14.

However, once Cardiff returned to full strength, they regained control and finished the game strongly. Alex Mann crossed and Evan Lloyd secured the bonus point with a late double – one from a blindside snipe and the second also from a rolling maul – to seal victory for the Welsh side.

Scores

DHL Stormers 35 (6) – Tries: Stefan Ungerer, Evan Roos, Ruan Ackermann, Jurie Matthee. Conversions: Matthee (3). Penalties: Matthee (3).

Leinster 0

Glasgow Warriors 35 (14) – Tries: Kyle Rowe, Stafford McDowall, Rory Darge, Jamie Dobie, Penalty try. Conversions: George Horne (4).

Hollywoodbets Sharks 19 (12) – Tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Vincent Tshituka, Lukhanyo Am. Conversions: Jaden Hendrikse (2).

Vodacom Bulls 53 (19) – Tries: Johan Grobbelaar (3), Marcell Coetzee (2), Cheswill Jooste (2), Jan Serfontein, Juann Else. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (4).

Ospreys 40 (26) – Tries: Keelan Giles (2), Keiran Williams (2), Jack Walsh, Morgan Morse. Conversions: Dan Edwards (5).

Cardiff 33 (14) – Tries: Ben Thomas, Cam Winnett, Alex Mann, Evan Lloyd (2). Conversions: Callum Sheedy (4).

Lions 20 (13) – Tries: Ruan Venter, WJ Steenkamp. Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela (2). Penalties: Dobela (2).