URC WRAP: Mixed fortunes for SA teams in thrilling URC round

It was a case of mixed fortunes for the four South African teams as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship returned to action this past weekend, with the Vodacom Bulls continuing to stamp their authority, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks also earned a valuable away win to stay close to the top teams on the table.

However, there was disappointment for the Emirates Lions, who went down to their neighbours from Pretoria in local derby, and DHL Stormers, who came up short against Leinster in Dublin.

The Vodacom Bulls earned their sixth victory in the competition as they defeated the Emirates Lions 35-22 in a Jukskei derby in Johannesburg, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks registered an invaluable 42-22 away-win against Cardiff in Wales.

The DHL Stormers went down fighting against log-leaders Leinster in Dublin where their determined efforts on the day were not good enough to match the hosts’ quality.

With two games to go later on Sunday, the Vodacom Bulls are in third place on the log with 30 points, one more than the Hollywoodbets Sharks in fourth place. The DHL Stormers and Emirates Lions are in the bottom half of the table – the Capetonians are 12th on 21 points and the Johannesburgers are 13th on 19 points, but that could still change.

The competition will now enter a short break for most teams until 14 February while the Six Nations gets underway, although the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls will take the field next week Saturday in their postponed round-one derby in in Cape Town.

FIRED UP VODACOM BULLS OUTCLASS EMIRATES LIONS

A fired-up Vodacom Bulls team were too good for the Emirates Lions in an intense Vodacom URC derby at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday to snatch a rewarding 35-22 bonus-point victory in the opening game of the weekend for South Africa’s teams.

The first half was a tight affair as both teams tried hard to breach the defence and make their presence felt, but a combination of penalties conceded and mistakes saw each team only cross the tryline only once, while Emirates Lions flyhalf Sam Francis kicked two penalty goals to one by his opposite number, Boeta Chamberlain.

The Pretoria outfit dominated the first quarter managed to take a 10-0 lead in the 16th minute to thanks Chamberlain’s three-pointer and a converted try by David Kriel, but the home side fought back hard as they delivered a composed and determined performance in the second quarter to take an 11-10 lead in the 33rd minute thanks to Henco van Wyk’s try and two penalty goals.

Such was the competitiveness of the first half, either team could have entered the break in the lead as the Vodacom Bulls failed to capitalise on two realistic try-scoring chances, while the Emirates Lions knocked on the ball on inches from the tryline and missed two crucial goal kicks.

The opening exchanges of the second half were tight with Francis slotting another two penalty goals and Chamberlain one, which pushed the Johannesburgers 17-13 ahead, but a big shift in momentum by the Vodacom Bulls – with experienced Springbok back Willie le Roux taking over at pivot – saw them take control of the match as they scored an additional three tries in 16 minutes by Cobus Wiese, Marcel Coetzee and Akker van der Merwe.

They supported this drive on attack with a fine defensive effort, limiting the hosts to one more try, by Etienne Oosthuizen, despite a desperate fightback in the dying minutes, which earned the Vodacom Bulls a well-deserved 35-22 victory.

Unfortunately, the victory came at a cost for the team as two of the Vodacom Bulls’ Springbok forwards, lock Ruan Nortje and loose forward Elrigh Louw, left the field with injuries.

SCORERS:

Emirates Lions 22 (11) – Tries: Henco van Wyk, Etienne Oosthuizen. Penalty goals: Sam Francis (4).

Vodacom Bulls 35 (10) – Tries: David Kriel, Cobus Wiese, Marcell Coetzee, Akker van der Merwe. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain, David Kriel (2). Penalty goals: Chamberlain (2), Kriel.

LEINSTER OUTPLAY DHL STORMERS TO REMAIN UNBEATEN

A three-try blitz in the second half in which Leinster scored three tries in seven minutes saw them outplay the DHL Stormers 36-12 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday to stretch their unbeaten run in the Vodacom URC to 10 matches, with the Irish giants outscoring the visitors five tries to two in an entertaining spectacle.

The first half was a humdinger as both teams threw everything at one another and backed this up with solid defence, which resulted in only three points separating the teams until the final minute of the first half.

Leinster came out firing in front of their passionate home crowd, kicking an early penalty goal and then scoring a try in the 10th minute to take a 10-0 lead. But the DHL Stormers fought back with intent, and their efforts paid off with a fantastic try by Ben Loader in the 20th minute – sparked by great vision by Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok to spread the ball wide and use the space to steer Loader to the tryline, and Libbok’s conversion reduced their deficit to three points.

This injected more energy in the Capetonians’ attack and their defence held strong to shut out Leinster’s waves of attack until the final moments of play in the half when the Irishmen took advantage of some open space on the wing to score their second try for a 15-7 halftime lead.

It took Leinster 18 minutes in the second half to score their third try of the match, but when they fired, they did so in style scoring three tries in fewer than 10 minutes for a commanding 36-7 lead in the 67th minute.

The DHL Stormers fought back with everything they had, and they managed to string together phases on several occasions and apply pressure on the defence – one of their efforts almost paid off, but they were penalised for holding on, but their determination saw them finally break through in the 78th minute with Evan Roos crossing the tryline from a rolling maul.

These efforts, however, were too little too late, allowing Leinster to maintain their unbeaten status and come away with a rewarding victory.

Scorers:

Leinster 36 (15) – Tries: Andrew Osborne (2), Dan Sheehan (2), Jordie Barrett. Conversions: Ross Byrne (4). Penalty goal: Byrne.

DHL Stormers 12 (7) – Tries: Ben Loader, Evan Roos. Conversion: Manie Libbok.

HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS DELIVER THE GOODS IN CARDIFF

The Hollywoodbets Sharks delivered a quality performance against Cardiff at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday, scoring six tries to four in a high-scoring 42-22 encounter, which bagged them their first win against the Welsh side in the Vodacom URC.

It was a fast-paced game from both sides, and had it not been for the occasional missed opportunity, the Durbanites could have registered an even bigger win.

Cardiff opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a try out wide, but this was cancelled out the by Hollywoodbets Sharks’ opening five-pointer by Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi minutes later, converted by his SA teammate Jordan Hendrikse to make it 7-5.

The Durbanites continued to inflict damage with powerful runners Jurenzo Julius and Makazole Mapimpi scoring back-to-back tries, and by the 33rd minute they held a 21-5 lead.

Cardiff fought back and this paid off with their second try in the 37th minute by Tom Bowen, which saw the hosts enter the sheds trailing by 21-10.

Mbonambi added his second try two minutes after play resumed, but Bowen followed suit two minutes later for his brace, before the hosts added another try to reduce their deficit to 28-22 in the 58th minute.

The KwaZulu-Natalians, however, finished with a flourish, scoring two tries in three minutes by Francois Venter and Yaw Penxe to push the match out of reach for the home side and secure a handy victory bonus-point victory on the road at the halfway stage of their campaign.

Scorers:

Cardiff 22 (10) – Tries: Tom Bowen (2), Alex Mann, Gabriel Hamer-Webb. Conversion: Calum Sheedy.

Hollywoodbets Sharks 42 (21) – Tries: Bongi Mbonambi (2), Jurenzo Julius, Makazole Mapimpi, Francois Venter, Yaw Penxe. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (6).