Sharks, Bulls and Lions show fight as Stormers suffer first defeat

The DHL Stormers’ unbeaten run and flawless home track record in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship came to a grinding halt on Saturday, as the Hollywoodbets Sharks stunned them with a fine display of rugby in Cape Town, while the Vodacom Bulls registered a valuable away win in Scotland and the Lions were forced to settle for a draw against in Wales in what proved to be a fair weekend for SA’s teams.

On Friday, the Bulls scored a late try to register a rewarding 19-17 victory against Edinburgh in Scotland, while the Lions will be gutted about a missed opportunity on the stroke of full-time against the Ospreys in Wales, which saw them finish the match tied at 24-24.

The Stormers were outplayed 30-19 by a determined Sharks team in Cape Town on Saturday, in what was a bit of an upset as the visitors turned on the style to record a bonus-point victory.

The Stormers’ defeat saw them drop into second place on the standings for the first time in the competition, still on 36 points, with the Glasgow Warriors now topping the table on 39, although the Capetonians have a game in hand, while the Lions’ draw was enough to see them cling onto seventh position (24 pts).

The Bulls’ win in Scotland means they are in ninth spot on the log (20 pts), just outside the play-off places and the Sharks’ victory saw them leap up three places from 14th to 11th on 19 points.

The Bulls staged a strong second-half comeback in a hard-fought match against Edinburgh at the Hive Stadium on Friday to convert a 17-5 half-time deficit into an encouraging victory to earn their second win in as many weeks.

Edinburgh ran hard at the visitors on attack and used their powerful forwards well to assert pressure in the first half and they wasted no time making a strong statement as Duhan van der Merwe crashed over the tryline in the sixth minute but the Pretoria outfit hit back minutes later with a try of their own by Ruan Vermaak to level the scores.

With both teams building strong phases on attack, Pierre Schoeman pushed the hosts back into the lead in the 18th minute with their second five-pointer, and they built on this with their third try with six minutes left in the half to enter the sheds 17-5 ahead.

This gave the Bulls the nudge they needed to step up their game and they struck back with a try by Johan Grobbelaar three minutes into the second half to work their way back into the match.

After a long stretch of competitive play by both teams, Marco van Staden pushed the Vodacom Bulls into a handy 19-17 lead with just over 10 minutes to play after a pick and drive try.

They defended with heart in the closing minutes, which saw them clinch the vital victory for a handy boost on the standings.

Score

Edinburgh 17 (17) – Tries: Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman, D'Arcy Rae. Conversion: Ross Thompson.

Vodacom Bulls 19 (5) – Tries: Marcell Coetzee, Johann Grobbelaar, Marco van Staden. Conversions: Handre Pollard (2).

The Lions and Ospreys settled for a disappointing draw in a gripping encounter in terrible conditions at the Dunraven Brewery Field on Friday in which both teams scored four tries to walk away with three points apiece.

The Lions showed their intent from the outset as Francke Horn crashed over for the first try of the match in the eighth minute and they found themselves weathering a storm until the final minute of the half as the Ospreys had the biggest share of possession and territory.

This allowed the hosts to fight back strongly, with tries by James Ratti and Iestyn Hopkins within nine minutes – the second of which was while the hosts were down to 14 men – to take a 12-5 lead with seven minutes left in the half.

The Johannesburgers were dealt a blow as SJ Kotze was sent to the sinbin and this paved the way for the Ospreys side to score their third try, but this fuelled the Lions’ fight, and they managed to score their second try on the stroke of halftime, with Horn earning his brace, to reduce their deficit to 19-12 going into the break.

The second half was gripping as both teams threw everything at one another but the visitors’ continued to string together encouraging attacking phases, which paid off with PJ Botha adding the Lions’ third try seven minutes after play resumed, while they added their bonus point try in the 58th minute compliments of Quan Horn after Ospreys received their second yellow card.

This handed the Lions a handy 24-19 lead, however, it was short-lived as Daniel Kasende scored the hosts’ bonus-point try minutes into the fourth quarter to level the scores at 24 apiece.

The closing minutes were intense as both teams made their way close to the tryline and created opportunities to break the deadlock – even when the Lions were again reduced to 14 men following an infringement by Etienne Oosthuizen – but both teams were left disappointed, as the Lions came close to upsetting the applecart in the final seconds with a fantastic grubber, which they failed to dot down, just after the Ospreys missed a crucial shot at goal, either of which could have determined a winner.

Score

Ospreys 24 (19) – Tries: James Ratti, Iestyn Hopkins, Morgan Morse, Daniel Kasende. Conversions: Dan Edwards (2).

Lions 24 (12) – Tries: Francke Horn (2), PJ Botha, Quan Horn. Conversions: Chris Smith (2).

The Sharks broke the DHL Stormers’ unbeaten record at home this season with a fine display of rugby at the DHL Stadium, in which they built on a 17-12 half-time lead to finish with a rewarding bonus-point victory.

In what was undoubtedly surprise for the hosts, the struggling Sharks took the error-ridden Capetonians apart in in front of another full house at DHL Stadium, racking up a 14-5 lead in the opening 12 minutes through a good driving maul, in which Jason Jenkins crash over, and their second try was created by a pinpoint kick to the corner to Jaco Williams.

Stormers centre Damian Willemse scored the hosts’ first try after being awarded a penalty at the seven-minute mark and he added his second from a quick tap and feed a little under 20 minutes later, shortly after Jordan Hendrikse kicked a penalty, leaving the Stormers trailing by 17-12 at the break.

Repeated infringements by the Stormers shortly after the break had culminated in a team warning from the referee and Salmaan Moerat had just two minutes on the field as a replacement when he became a victim of his side’s earlier ill-discipline.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first stanza, with a big standout point being the scrums, where the Sharks had the upper hand and with the home side still being a man down, Phepsi Buthelezi crossed the chalk for their third try.

Unfortunately for the Cape side, a combination of pressure from the visitors and cynical penalties at times denied them from threatening the visitors’ lead, and this allowed Hendrikse to slot his second penalty to go 25-12 up with 13 minutes left on the clock.

A yellow card to Vernon Montongo in the 70th minute damaged the Cape side’s hopes of a victory and this paved the way for Andre Esterhuizen to score the Sharks’ bonus-point try in the dying minutes.

The Stormers’ only solace was a penalty try in the 77th minute for the collapse of a driving maul but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from leaving the stadium empty handed and with unbeaten run in tatters.

The teams will meet next week again in KwaZulu-Natal.

Score

DHL Stormers 19 (12) – Tries: Damian Willemse (2), Penalty Try. Conversion: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Hollywoodbets Sharks 30(17) - Tries: Jason Jenkins, Jaco Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi, Andre Esterhuizen. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (2). Penalties: Hendrikse (2).