The Hollywoodbets Sharks kept the South African flag flying on the opening round of the Investec Champions Cup, which saw defeats for the DHL Stormers and the Vodacom Bulls, while the Toyota Cheetahs managed a draw and the Emirates Lions slipped to a defeat in Wales in the EPCR Challenge Cup.
The KwaZulu-Natalians started the weekend on a bright note when they defeated Exeter Chiefs 39-21 in Durban on Saturday afternoon.
However, that was to be the only win of the weekend as the Stormers lost 24-14 to Toulon on the same day at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, and that was followed by the Bulls’ 27-5 evening defeat to Saracens in London.
In the EPCR Challenge Cup, Perpignan kicked a late equaliser to deny the Cheetahs a famous victory in Amsterdam, while the Lions found the going tough against the Ospreys in Llanelli.
The Sharks kicked off their 2024/2025 Investec Champions Cup campaign with a commanding victory over the Exeter Chiefs in Durban on Saturday afternoon, with a brace of tries by Springbok captain Siya Kolisi.
Playing in stifling heat and humidity, the hosts led 26-14 at half-time and maintained their dominance to secure a bonus-point win by outscoring Exeter by five tries to three.
The match began with both teams struggling to capitalize on early opportunities. In the seventh minute, Exeter's No 8 Greg Fisilau received a yellow card for a head-on collision with Springbok fullback Aphelele Fassi. Despite being a man down, they opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a try from hooker Dan Frost.
The home side responded in the 20th minute when Phepsi Buthelezi finished off a well-coordinated attack. Shortly after, Springbok speedster Makazole Mapimpi scored their second try from a counter-attack initiated by Fassi and his Springbok teammate Grant Williams, who added a third try minutes later when he was the beneficiary of on an Ethan Hooker offload.
Exeter's discipline issues continued as replacement Will Rigg was yellow-carded in the 32nd minute. The Durbanites took full advantage, with Kolisi scoring their fourth try just before the break. However, the English club managed to close the half with a second try from Frost to reduce the half-time deficit to 26-14.
The KwaZulu-Natalians extended their lead to 29-14 early in the second half via a Jordan Hendrikse penalty and Hendrikse was also pivotal when he set up Kolisi’s second try in the 54th minute.
However, discipline then became an issue for the hosts in the final quarter, with Eben Etzebeth and Emile van Heerden both receiving yellow cards, reducing them to 13 men. Exeter capitalized with a try from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who collected a cross-kick to score.
The hosts’ disciplinary woes continued as Eduan Keyter was also yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on, leaving them with 12 men. Despite the numerical advantage, Exeter failed to secure a fourth try, with Tommy Wyatt losing the ball in the opposing in-goal area.
Score
Hollywoodbets Sharks 39 (26) – Tries: Phepsi Buthelezi, Makazole Mapimpi, Grant Williams, Siya Kolisi (2). Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (4). Penalties: Hendrikse (2).
Exeter Chiefs 21 (14) - Tries: Dan Frost (2), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. Conversions: Josh Hodge (3).
French giants Toulon defeated the Stormers at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in their Investec Champions Cup opener on Saturday afternoon.
The encounter, an ill-tempered affair that produced a number of cards – one red and three yellow was staged in the Eastern Cape because of the weekend's HSBC SVNS Cape Town at the DHL Stadium.
Yannick Youyoutte was red-carded for head-to-head contact, while Willie Engelbrecht (collapsing a maul near the line), Marius Domon (slapping the ball down) and Leolin Zas (shoulder charge to the head) were all sent to the sin bin.
Trailing 14-10 at the break, the French side stepped up a gear to dominate the second half and outscore their hosts by two tries without any reply. They also did a good defensive job to deny the Capetonians any points in the second stanza.
French Test scrumhalf Baptiste Serin was the main orchestrator for the visitors and his exploits earned him the man of the match accolade. Both Joseph Dweba and Engelbrecht made their 50th appearances for the Stormers.
Gabin Villiere scored first in the fourth minute from a slick backline move while Serin added the extras and a penalty five minutes later, as the French side swept into a 10-0 lead.
The Stormers’ outside backs, Warrick Gelant, Suleiman Hartzenberg and Zas, then combined splendidly to send Gelant over for a sublime finish in the 14th minute. Manie Libbok converted to reduce the gap to 10-7.
On the stroke of half-time, Dweba was driven over the line from a powerful maul for their second try, which handed the Stormers a four-point (14-10) lead at the break.
A free-kick against the home side for a scrum infringement saw Facundo Isa charging over from five metres out and with Serin adding the extras, Toulon reclaimed the lead at 17-14. That was followed by a huge hit from Villiere on Libbok. The ball was hacked ahead, with Serin collecting and scoring the try. The scrumhalf added the conversion for a 10-point (24-14) lead with 15 minutes remaining.
Libbok then received another heavy blow which resulted in him leaving the field. TMO Dean Richards and referee Karl Dickson found that Youyoutte was at fault for the dangerous collision and issued a red card.
A minute later, Domon was also yellow carded, for cynically slapping the ball down. And almost immediately, Zas was also sin-binned for a what was deemed a dangerous tackle. However, the visitors managed to keep the home side at bay and hung on for a 10-point win.
Score
DHL Stormers 14 (14) – Tries: Warrick Gelant, Joseph Dweba. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2).
Toulon 24 (10) – Tries: Gabin Villiere, Facundo Isa, Baptiste Serin. Conversions: Serin (3). Penalty: Serin.
Saracens outplayed the Bulls on Saturday evening in a performance the Pretoria side would rather forget. The home side did just enough to lead 8-5 at the break of their Investec Champions Cup clash.
Despite starting with the wind at their backs, the men from Pretoria struggled to control the game as they committed numerous errors and Saracens adapting better to the gale force wind and driving rain.
Their discipline issues compounded their problems, with Jannes Kirsten and Sebastian de Klerk both receiving yellow cards as the penalty count topped 15.
The Bulls’ only try came from a beautiful left-hand skip pass by Springbok fullback Willie le Roux to De Klerk, who was one of the hardest working backs in the challenging conditions.
Saracens secured their bonus point with tries through Rhys Carre, Tom Willis, Jamie George and Ben Earl and the three-time champions fully deserved their wind in front of their passionate supporters. The Bulls, however, have much to ponder before their next assignment.
Score
Saracens 27 (8) – Tries: Rhys Carre, Tom Willis, Jamie George, Ben Earl. Conversions: Fergus Burke (2). Penalty: Burke.
Vodacom Bulls 5 (5) - Try: Sebastian de Klerk.
Perpignan flyhalf Antoine Aucagne kicked a last-minute penalty goal to secure a 20-20 draw for Perpignan with the Cheetahs in their EPCR Challenge Cup game in Amsterdam on a cold Sunday afternoon.
The French club led 17-10 at half-time through tries from Aucagne, Setareki Toganiyadrava, and Job Poulet.
The Bloemfontein outfit had briefly taken the lead through a penalty goal by Ethan Wentzel near the end but a breakdown infringement allowed Aucagne to level the scores at fulltime.
The Free Staters initially struggled in the chilly conditions and they missed several opportunities, despite tries from Jeandre Rudolph, Louis van der Westhuizen, and Daniel Maartens.
Score
Toyota Cheetahs 20 (10) – Tries: Jeandre Rudolph, Louis van der Westhuizen, Daniel Maartens. Conversion: Ethan Wentzel. Penalty: Wentzel.
Perpignan 20 (17) – Tries: Antoine Aucagne, Setareki Toganiyadrava, Job Poulet. Conversion: Aucagne. Penalty: Aucagne.
An inexperienced Lions side lost 30-14 (half-time 13-7) to the Ospreys in their EPCR Challenge Cup match in Llanelli, Wales on Sunday afternoon after they outgunned the side from Johannesburg by four tries to two.
The Lions decided to send a host of players home after last weekend’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash in Ireland, to start preparing for their match this weekend against Section Paloise.
Furthermore, due to structural damages at the Swansea.com Stadium caused by Storm Darragh, the match was relocated to Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli.
Despite scoring first through Franco Marais, the Highvelders couldn't maintain their early momentum. Ospreys' Jac Morgan, named Man of the Match for his solid performance, led his team to dominate the breakdown and general play.
The Welsh side took control with tries from Morgan, Keelan Giles, Kieran Hardy and Dan Edwards, while Owen Williams added two penalties and two conversions.
Erich Cronje scored a late try for the Highvelders, but it wasn't enough to prevent their third straight defeat in all competitions.
Score
Ospreys 30 (13) – Tries: Jac Morgan, Keelan Giles, Kieran Hardy, Dan Edwards. Conversions: Owen Williams (2). Penalties: Williams (2).
Emirates Lions 14 (7) – Tries: Franco Marais, Erich Cronje. Conversions: Sam Francis, Sanele Nohamba.
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