Bulls and Sharks fly SA flag in URC
Rugby
The Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks did enough to finish in the top eight on the Vodacom United Rugby Championship standings after an action-packed seventh round.All three South African teams were in action on Saturday after enjoying a well-deserved break due to the Castle Lager Outgoing Series, and the Pretoria and Durban sides registered morale boosting victories.
The Bulls delivered another impressive performance to defeat Connacht 28-14 in Galway, while the Sharks held off a determined challenge by the DHL Stormers in Durban for a 21-15 victory in a thrilling South African derby.
The Emirates Lions, meanwhile, suffered their second defeat in six outings as they went down 17-10 against Munster in a tight encounter in Limerick.
These results saw the Bulls complete the round in third place on the table with 24 points (trailing log-leaders Leinster by 10 points), while the Sharks are now sitting in sixth position with 19 points.
The KwaZulu-Natalians and the fifth-placed Emirates Lions are tied on log point, but the Gautengers have a better points’ difference. The DHL Stormers are 13th after suffering their fourth defeat of the season.
The teams will now switch into Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup mode until the Vodacom URC resumes on Friday, 20 December.
Sharks record first URC win against DHL Stormers
A combination of capitalising on their try-scoring chances and effective defence saw the Sharks hold on for a 21-15 victory against the Stormers in a humdinger, yet error ridden match, on Saturday at Kings Park in Durban.
The Durbanites got off to a strong start, scoring two tries in the opening 16 minutes compliments of Ethan Hooker and Springbok captain Siya Kolisi to take a 14-0 lead.
Manie Libbok touched down under the posts in the final run of play only to be denied the try and the Stormers a possible victory due to a knock-on at a ruck earlier on, but the Capetonians managed to grab a losing bonus point.
– SuperSport