URC Recap | Bulls, Sharks and Stormers win but Lions drop out of Top 8
by KickOff Rugby · KickOffThe Bulls, Sharks and Stormers were forced to dig deep in their United Rugby Championship (URC) round-four matches over the weekend to register vital bonus-point victories, keeping all three sides in the top five of the standings.
However, the Lions could not hold on in the second half of their encounter and suffered a heavy defeat in Scotland, which saw them drop out of the top eight.
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The Sharks registered a 36-21 victory against Cardiff in Wales on Friday, while the Lions went down 31-10 against unbeaten log leaders Edinburgh in Scotland.
The Bulls and Stormers kept the South African flag flying at home on Saturday. The men from Pretoria held their nerve in an intense encounter against Ulster to secure a 34-26 victory, while the Capetonians scored two late tries to see off Scarlets 52-40 in a dramatic match in Cape Town.
These results saw the Bulls finish the round in third place on the table with 16 points, behind Edinburgh (19) and Glasgow (18). The Stormers are fourth, also on 16 points, while the Sharks are in fifth place with 15 points.
The Lions, in turn, are now in 11th position with nine points, with 14 rounds of pool matches still to play.
Sharks Show Their Bite to Secure Valuable Win in Cardiff
The Sharks continued to deliver on their encouraging early-season form to register a much-needed 36-21 URC victory against Cardiff at Cardiff Arms Park on Friday night. A dominant first half set the wheels in motion for their six-try romp against the Welsh outfit.
The Durbanites drew first blood in the third minute with a stunning try by Ethan Hooker, who gathered a pop pass close to the tryline and crossed the line. Cardiff hit back several minutes later with a try following a good break, hard running and impressive support play to take a 7-5 lead.
Both teams tried hard to breach the defence again before half-time, but the Sharks had the upper hand, converting two more try-scoring opportunities into points. Matt Romao darted through a gap in the defence after gathering a timely pass from a ruck, before Jason Jenkins scored from a pick-and-go to give the visitors a handy 17-7 half-time lead.
Cardiff came out fighting, with James Botham scoring twice during a period of sustained pressure to bring the hosts back to within two points. However, the KwaZulu-Natalians dominated the closing stages, with Thomas du Toit, Ethan Bester and Romao touching down before the final whistle to secure a vital bonus-point 36-21 victory.
Scorers:
Cardiff 21 (7) – Tries: Josh Adams, James Botham (2). Conversions: Jarrod Evans (3).
Sharks 36 (17) – Tries: Ethan Hooker, Matt Romao (2), Jason Jenkins, Thomas du Toit, Ethan Bester. Conversions: Gianni Lombard (3).
Strong Second Half Paves the Way for Edinburgh to Outplay Lions
The Lions, who were still reeling from the death of their teammate Hyron Andrews last week, were completely outplayed in a disappointing second half in pouring rain against Edinburgh at the Hive Stadium. The hosts dominated most areas of the game and converted their chances into points to secure a commanding 31-10 URC victory.
The teams entered the break with Edinburgh — the only team to have won all four of their games so far this season — holding a narrow two-point lead after scoring a well-worked try following a great break on the outside. The Johannesburg side, meanwhile, had to settle for a penalty goal by Chris Smith.
Unfortunately for the Gauteng side, the second half proved to be one-way traffic as Edinburgh played the South Africans off the park with powerful forward play and impressive running into space, while the Lions struggled with an unorganised defence. The hosts added four tries to their tally, while limiting the visitors to one, scored by Batho Hlekani, to secure the 31-10 victory.
Scorers:
Edinburgh 31 (5) – Tries: Matt Currie, Mosese Tuipulotu, Hector Patterson (2), Geordie Gwynn. Conversions: James Grayson (2), Cammy Scott.
Lions 10 (3) – Try: Batho Hlekani. Conversion: Chris Smith. Penalty goal: Smith.
Bulls Hold On Under Extreme Pressure Against Determined Ulster
The Bulls showed true grit under extreme pressure against a determined Ulster side in an epic URC clash at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, holding off the Irishmen in the dying minutes to secure a valuable 34-26 bonus-point victory.
The hosts started the match on an encouraging note, and all indications at half-time were that they would secure a convincing win after leading 21-7. However, Ulster threw everything at them in the second half with their phase play and pace out wide.
As a result, the visitors found themselves within seven points of drawing the match in the dying minutes, but it was not to be as a late penalty goal by the hosts sealed the victory.
Had it not been for a few missed opportunities, however, the Bulls would undoubtedly have secured a more convincing result. They set the tone early on when Marcell Coetzee crashed over from a rolling maul, before Elrigh Louw finished off a wave of forward drives to give them a 14-0 lead.
Ulster continued to get stuck into the match but initially struggled to make their pressure count. Coetzee scored his second try from a pick-and-go. With their scrum dominant, the Bulls looked comfortable at 21-0, but Ulster scored on the stroke of half-time to reduce the deficit to 21-7.
The second half was a different story, with Ulster's forwards striking with an early try. The Bulls also lost a man when Coetzee was shown a yellow card for a high tackle. A penalty goal by Handre Pollard soon afterwards steadied the ship, but Ulster kept fighting and added another try early in the fourth quarter to cut the gap to 24-19.
Johan Grobbelaar responded for the hosts by bursting through two defenders to crash over the tryline and secure their bonus point. This did not dampen Ulster's spirits, however, as they scored their fourth try in the 69th minute to set up a nervy finish at 31-26.
The Bulls dug deep, and a Curwin Bosch penalty goal on the full-time hooter sealed their hard-earned win.
Scorers:
Bulls 34 (21) – Tries: Marcell Coetzee (2), Elrigh Louw, Johan Grobbelaar. Conversions: Handre Pollard (4). Penalty goals: Pollard, Curwin Bosch.
Ulster 26 (7) – Tries: Chay Mullins (2), Dave McCann, Stuart McCloskey. Conversions: Jack Murphy (3).
Two Late Tries Seal Stormers Victory Against Scarlets in Cape Town
Two late tries by Junior Springbok flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed helped the Stormers breathe a sigh of relief as they saw off Scarlets 52-40 in their URC clash in Cape Town on Saturday. The scores were level at 40-40 by the 65th minute in an enthralling contest.
The Capetonians held a 33-14 lead at the break thanks to their enterprising attack and ability to capitalise on their dominant scrum in the first half. However, they were forced to withstand a strong fightback from the visitors, who scored four tries in just over 20 minutes to work their way back into the game and threaten an upset.
Ahmed's two late tries steered the hosts to their third URC victory in four matches, as they finished the game having outscored Scarlets eight tries to six.
The game started in dramatic fashion when the Welsh side received a yellow card in the 11th minute. The Stormers pounced immediately, with Zachary Porthen scoring after a powerful charge around the maul. Haashim Pead then gathered a clever back-door pass to help push the hosts 12-0 ahead.
The rest of the half was more balanced, with Scarlets getting on the scoreboard minutes later through a try in the corner. Ntuthuko Mchunu responded with a powerful burst from the back of the lineout.
The Welsh visitors struck again with their pace, before Seabelo Senatla collected a long pass out wide to secure the Stormers' bonus-point try. Deon Fourie added another five-pointer on the stroke of half-time to extend the hosts' lead.
The second half played out very differently, as Scarlets made impressive line breaks time after time and took advantage of the Stormers' defensive struggles and missed one-on-one tackles.
Scarlets added four more tries, including two by Joe Roberts as he completed his hat-trick. With their backs against the wall, the Stormers fought back through a try by Junior Springbok prop Oliver Reid and two from Ahmed to claim a relieving victory.
Scorers:
Stormers 52 (33) – Tries: Zachary Porthen, Haashim Pead, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Seabelo Senatla, Deon Fourie, Oliver Reid, Yaqeen Ahmed (2). Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (6).
Scarlets 40 (14) – Tries: Joe Roberts (3), Ioan Jones, Macs Page, Josh Macleod. Conversions: Carwyn Leggatt-Jones (5).