Near misses as SA teams’ European adventures end

It was a disappointing weekend for the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks, as all three teams were squeezed out of the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup competitions, in the key Round of 16.

In the Investec Champions Cup, the Stormers were left heartbroken after their 28-27 defeat against Toulon in France on Saturday in a nail-biting clash and it was a case of déjà vu for the Bulls, who went down 25-21 to the Glasgow Warriors in a tense encounter in Scotland.

In the EPCR Challenge Cup, meanwhile, the Sharks lost 29-12 against Connacht in Ireland, with these results bringing down the curtain on their European campaigns this season.

The quarter-finals in both competitions will play out next weekend, while the domestic franchises will have an extra week to regroup before the Vodacom United Rugby Championship resumes in two weeks.

It was a case of pure heartbreak for the Stormers as they suffered a nail-biting defeat against Toulon at Stade Felix Mayol on Saturday in a thrilling encounter that kept fans on the edge of their seats until the final play despite the hosts playing with 13 men in the dying minutes.

Toulon held a narrow 14-13 half-time lead after they touched down twice in the first half, while limiting the Capetonians to a converted try and two penalty goals before the break, which saw them hold the narrow lead going into the change room.

The second half was a gripping affair as the Stormers put up a brave fight until after the regular 80 minutes of play, only to be denied a few crucial chances while the Frenchmen were reduced to 14 and then 13 men in the final 10 minutes.

Toulon scored the first points of the game in the eighth minute with their first try after showing their intent in the opening minutes but a penalty by Jurie Matthee in the 19th minute, followed by a try by Adre Smith minutes later from a great pass in a line-out and fantastic support play saw them score their first five-pointer and the successful conversion pushed them 10-7 up.

Toulon cancelled this out with their second try 11 minutes before halftime, compliments of a good pass out wide but the Stormers struck again with their second penalty six minutes before the hooter sounded, which saw the visitors enter the break trailing by only one point.

The Cape side had two opportunities to score before and after the break, respectively but they were unable to convert those chances into points.

However, they kept fighting and Evan Roos touched down in the 53rd minute following intense pressure close to the line to regain the lead.

It wasn’t long before Toulon hit back with their third try, and it was once again a one-point game.

The hosts made a crucial breakthrough in the 65th minute with another well-timed pass out wide to take a handy eight-point lead.

It took the Stormers three attempts to finally score their third try three minutes from time by Imad Khan to trail 28-27 and had it not been from a fine defensive effort by the hosts, they could have created a massive upset – but it was not to be as the French side held on for dear life on defence and managed to hold onto the nail-biting victory to progress to the quarter-finals.

Score

Toulon 28 (14) – Tries: Ben White, Gaël Drean, Mathis Ferte, Setariki Tuicuvu. Conversions: Marius Domon, Tomas Albornoz (3).

DHL Stormers 27 (13) – Tries: Adre Smith, Evan Roos, Imad Khan. Conversions: Jurie Matthee, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2). Penalties: Matthee (2).

There was high drama at the Scotstoun Stadium on Saturday as the Glasgow Warriors edged the Bulls in a humdinger of an encounter, overturning the two-point lead the South Africans held going into the break.

The first half was hard-fought as both teams threw everything at one another in at times torrential rain and this resulted in them taking all the points on offer they could, with Glasgow scoring two tries, one of which was converted, to one by the Bulls and three penalties by Handre Pollard.

The men from Pretoria ran hard in the opening minutes but were unable to break through the defence, and the first points on the scoreboard were from a penalty by Pollard.

It wasn’t long before Glasgow hit back with their first try, but Pollard again opted for a penalty goal in the second quarter, which was cancelled out soon after by the hosts’ second try seven minutes before half-time to push them 12-7 up.

Glasgow struck again with their second try but the missed conversion saw Pollard’s third penalty on the stroke of half-time hand them a close 14-12 lead to close off the half.

Glasgow overcame a flurry of attacking threats by the Bulls in the early stages of the second half but their defence held strong.

They reclaimed the lead shortly before the fourth quarter with Glasgow’s third try from some intense pressure close to the tryline, which saw them take a 17-14 lead, which set the scene for a tense finish to the match.

The hosts fought tooth and nail to stamp their authority as the clock wound down and their determined efforts finally paid off with their fourth try in the corner in the dying minutes, which pushed them 22-14 ahead with less than seven minutes to play.

The match took a dramatic turn with three minutes to play as Marco van Staden crashed over the chalk and the successful conversion saw them trail by a single point with the final whistle in sight.

Their chances of staging a dramatic comeback, however, were dealt a big blow as Elrigh Louw received a yellow card for infringing close to the tryline and the home side capitalised on this to score a vital penalty for a 25-21 victory as the clock counted down.

Score

Glasgow Warriors 25 (12) – Tries: Max Williamson, Jack Dempsey, Patrick Schickerling, Stafford McDowall. Conversion: Dan Lancaster. Penalty: Adam Hastings.

Vodacom Bulls 21 (14) – Tries: Johann Grobbelaar, Marco van Staden. Conversion: David Kriel. Penalties: Handre Pollard (3).

It was a classic example of a match of two halves in the EPCR Challenge Cup encounter between Connacht and the Sharks at the Dexcom Stadium, where the visitors held a 12-7 half-time lead but found themselves contending with a desperate home side in a one-sided second half, which saw the Irishmen secure a comfortable victory to advance to the quarter-finals.

The visitors dominated the first half with more than 60% possession but the hosts stood firm against the assault, as the Sharks backline could simply not make inroads against the solid defence.

Such was the quality of Connacht’s defence in the opening stanza, the KwaZulu-Natalians had to rely on four penalties by Jean Smith for their 12 points, while the hosts’ only points were compliments of a converted try in the 22nd minute, despite creating a few more threatening breaks.

The home side, on the other hand, started to win more possession after half-time and broke the visitors’ backline defence fairly frequently, which saw them score 22 unanswered points in the second stanza thanks to three tries - two of which were converted - and a penalty goal, while they kept the South Africans scoreless for the rewarding win.

Score

Connacht 29 (7) – Tries: Chay Mullins, Cathal Forde (2), Shamus Hurley-Langton. Conversions: Sam Gilbert (3). Penalty: Gilbert.

Hollywoodbets Sharks 12 (12) – Penalties: Jean Smith (4).