Three SA teams qualify for European play-offs

The DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls have booked their places in the Investec Champions Cup Round of 16, while Hollywoodbets Sharks will contest the EPCR Challenge Cup play-offs after one of the most successful rounds for the domestic teams in the European showpiece this season.

However, there was heartbreak for the Lions, as they were forced to settle for a 20-20 draw against Perpignan, which signalled the end of their EPCR Challenge Cup campaign due to the French side’s superior standing on the table.

The Bulls’ bonus-point 26-24 victory against Section Paloise in France on Friday evening was enough to secure them a Round of 16 place against the Glasgow Warriors away in April, while the Stormers’ 39-26 victory against the Leicester Tigers in Cape Town saw them book a play-off spot against Toulon, also abroad.

Unfortunately for the Sharks, their convincing 50-12 victory against Clermont Auvergne in Durban was not enough to keep them in the Investec Champions Cup but their fifth-place finish in their pool earned them an EPCR Challenge Cup play-off match against Connacht, which means they have a chance of reclaiming the title they won two seasons ago.

In the EPCR Challenge Cup, the Lions produced an encouraging display against Perpignan in France, with the match ending in a draw, while a late try by Racing 92 saw the Toyota Cheetahs suffer a disappointing 31-28 defeat in Paris as both SA teams’ campaigns ended.

The Bulls delivered a fine defensive effort in their final Investec Champions Cup pool match at Stade du Hameau on Friday night and backed this up with a committed effort on attack to secure a vital victory against Section Paloise in France and with other results going their way, the men from Pretoria booked their play-off spot, while they also ended a seven-match losing streak this season.

The Pretoria outfit showed their intent from the opening minutes in a game dominated by the two packs, with Mpilo Gumede crashing over in the third minute, which Pau cancelled out minutes later with their first of three tries in the opening stanza.

After a competitive stretch, Akker van der Merwe added his name to the score sheet to hand the visitors a 12-7 lead, although Pau hit back with their second try to reclaim a two-point lead before a yellow card to Reinhardt Ludwig paved the way for the hosts to force their way through for another five pointer before the break, which nudged them into a 24-12 halftime lead.

Pau continued to run hard at the Bulls to build on this after the break and added the first points through a penalty but a combination of the South Africans’ tenacious defence combined with their sharpness on attack, saw them shut out the hosts for the remainder of the match – close to the tryline on a few occasions – while they did well to convert their chances into points, with tries by Cheswill Jooste and Nizaam Carr securing their bonus-point, with the latter touching down while the Frenchmen were down to 14 men.

Springbok Handre Pollard’s third conversion was enough to see them take a two-point lead with seven minutes left on the clock and with neither team able to add to their scores despite launching one attacking maul after another in the closing minutes, the victory for the Bulls pushed them into fourth place on the standings, which essentially was enough to grant them qualification for the play-offs.

Score

Section Paloise 24 (24) – Tries: Youri Delhommel (2), Jimi Maximin. Conversions: Clément Mondinat, Thomas Souverbie (2). Penalty: Souverbie.

Vodacom Bulls 26 (12) – Tries: Mpilo Gumede, Akker van der Merwe, Cheswill Jooste, Nizaam Carr. Conversions: Handre Pollard (3).

A strong second half in which the Sharks completely outplayed Clermont Auvergne steered them to a comprehensive victory at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, which kept the door open briefly for them to advance to the Investec Champions Cup play-offs, before Toulouse dashed their hopes by beating the Sale Sharks later that evening.

The first half was a hard grind as both teams ran hard at one another, with Clermont, in particular, placing pressure on the defence despite receiving a 20-minute red card in the seventh minute.

Aphelele Fassi started the eight-try try fest for the KwaZulu-Natalians in the opening minute in a strong statement of their intent and the situation looked even more encouraging for the hosts when Clermont were reduced to 14 men.

The visitors, however, fought hard and scored the first of their two tries four minutes before Jordan Hendrikse touched down, although this was cancelled out by the Frenchmen’s second five-pointer late in the half, which saw the Durbanites enter the break with a narrow 14-12 lead.

That, however, proved to be the last points of the match for the visitors, who were blown away by the Sharks’ hard running and enterprising attack, which they supported with effective defence, and this paved the way for the team to cruise through for six tries in the second stanza.

Two of these were scored while Clermont were down to 14 men after receiving a yellow card, by Vincent Koch and Phiko Sobahle and they finished the match with a flourish after the visitors received their second yellow card in the 62nd minute, with Fassi earning his brace, followed by Siya Masuku, Phepsi Buthelezi, and Jurenzo Julius, on the stroke of fulltime.

Both teams, however, will be disappointed that they struggled to round off a few more chances but the victory for the Sharks will undoubtedly boost their confidence as they look ahead to the EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16.

Score

Hollywoodbets Sharks 50 (14) – Tries: Aphelele Fassi (2), Jaden Hendrikse, Vincent Koch, Phiko Sobahle, Siya Masuku, Phepsi Buthelezi, Jurenzo Julius. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (4), Masuku.

Clermont Auvergne 12 (12) – Tries: Joris Jurand, Kylan Hamdaoui. Conversion: Lucas Zamora.

The Stormers overcame a competitive first half against the Leicester Tigers at the DHL Stadium to convert a narrow 15-14 half-time lead into a rewarding bonus-point victory, which saw them bounce back from their only defeat of the season last week and cement their Investec Champions Cup play-off spot.

In a match plagued by patches of average play and stoppages, Leicester started on a disappointing note as they received a yellow card in the fifth minute and the Capetonians pounced on the opportunity to score back-to-back tries by Evan Roos and Andre-Hugo Venter within the opening 15 minutes for a 12-0 lead.

The Tigers showed their fighting spirit to score two tries in three minutes to take a two-point lead but Stormers skipper Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu ensured that they entered the break leading by 15-14 with a vital penalty shortly before the whistle sounded.

The second half was equally competitive but the Cape side’s three tries to two by the opposition sealed the win for them.

Leicester had the first say in the second stanza, scoring their third try, but this was cancelled out by Leolin Zas and converted by Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who received his marching orders minutes later when they were 22-21 ahead.

Despite this, they maintained their attacking mojo, with JD Schickerling touching down and Imad Khan added the conversion and a subsequent penalty goal for a handy 11-point lead.

The match, however, was far from over as the Englishman struck again for their bonus-point try with eight minutes to play, which kept them in range of a possible losing bonus point but ultimately Khan had the final say as he crossed the chalk shortly before the hooter, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu adding the conversion to seal the victory for the hosts and maintain their unbeaten run at home.

Score

DHL Stormers 39 (15) – Tries: Evan Roos, Andre-Hugo Venter, Leolin Zas, JD Schickerling, Imad Khan. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3), Khan. Penalties: Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Khan.

Leicester Tigers 26 (14) – Tries: George Pearson, Will Wand, Jamie Blamire, Tom Manz. Conversions: Billy Searle (3).

The Lions were left gutted after a gripping EPCR Challenge Cup match in pouring rain against Perpignan at Stade Aime Giral on Saturday, which ended in a 20-20 draw after the teams entered half-time level on 10 points apiece, which saw the Johannesburgers being knocked out of the competition.

Perpignan opened the scoring with an early penalty but the Lions fought back to earn a penalty try in the second quarter before both sides added penalties, while the French side were down to 14 men, which saw the Johannesburgers hold a 10-3 lead.

The hosts’ determined efforts on attack, however, saw them score a vital try in the 28th minute despite being a man short to tie the scores going into the sheds.

The second half was equally tight, with Chris Smith scoring the first points of the stanza shortly before the fourth quarter, compliments of a penalty and they backed this up with a well-earned try by PJ Botha to take an encouraging 20-10 lead.

Perpignan struck back with their second try with 13 minutes to go, and they continued to fight until the end, slotting a penalty in the dying minutes to level the scores at 20-20.

The Lions threw everything they had into their last attacking opportunity, in which they had a decent angle to the goal posts four minutes from time but opted for a line-out and unfortunately for the side, their pick-and-drive was halted by a handling error, which dashed all hopes of them qualifying for the play-offs.

Score

Perpignan 20 (10) – Tries: Joaquin Oviedo, Freddy Duguivalu. Conversions: Antoine Aucagne (2). Penalties: Aucagne (2).

Lions 20 (10) – Tries: PJ Botha, Penalty Try. Conversion: Chris Smith. Penalties: Smith (2).

There was heartbreak for the Cheetahs at La Defense Arena in Paris on Sunday, as Racing 92 scored a desperate last-minute try to overturn the Free Staters’ 28-24 lead for a rewarding bonus point victory in the final EPCR Challenge Cup match of the weekend.

In a match played purely for pride after both teams’ play-off hopes were dashed earlier in the competition, the Cheetahs started the game on fire with an intercept try in the opening minutes to take a 7-0 lead but the hosts nullified this with a well-worked try close to the tryline minutes later, leaving the teams level on 7-7.

Both sides had opportunities to score shortly after but were unable to convert them into points, while the Free Staters soon found themselves down to 14 men after Aranos Coetzee received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. Former Stormers No 8 Hacjivah Dayimani capitalised for the Frenchmen to break through a tackle at pace and cross the chalk to extend their lead.

Despite this, the Cheetahs fought back with some hard running on attack close to the tryline, which earned them a penalty try, while Racing 92 received a yellow card for an infringement in the process, levelling the scores once again and the numbers on the field temporarily.

Matters got worse for the hosts as they lost another player to the sin bin in the third quarter, which reduced them to 13 men, and the South Africans used the numerical advantage smartly with an overlap on the wing to cross for their third try and a 21-14 lead with minutes left in the half.

Racing 92 wasted no time fighting back in the break and scored back-to-back tries within the first 11 minutes to take the lead for the first time in the match, while they did well to shut out the Cheetahs’ desperate efforts to work their way close to the tryline.

The visitors’ efforts eventually paid off in the 69th minute when Zander du Plessis snatched a loose ball out of the air to dash through to the tryline to take a handy 28-24 lead, but their hopes of a victory were dashed in the dying minutes as Racing 92 crashed over the tryline for the match-winning try and a 31-28 victory.

Score

Racing 92 31 (14) – Tries: Auguste Albuisson, Hacjivah Dayimani, Nolann Donguy, Jonny Hill, Gael Fickou. Conversions: Antoine Gibert (3).

Toyota Cheetahs 28 (21) – Tries: Daniel Maartens, Penalty Try, Prince Nkabinde, Zander du Plessis. Conversions: Jaco van der Walt (3).