Stormers, Sharks fly SA flag in United Rugby Championship

The Stormers and Sharks reaffirmed their status as South Africa’s leading teams in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday as they registered valuable away wins in Gauteng against the Lions and Bulls, respectively.

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A strong second half showing by the Stormers saw them secure a bonus-point 32-10 victory against the Lions in Johannesburg, outscoring the hosts four tries to one, after holding a slender 10-3 half-time lead.

The Sharks and Bulls, meanwhile, scored four tries apiece in Pretoria, despite the hosts being reduced to 14 men for 70 minutes, and in the end, it was Durbanites’ superior goal kicking with two conversions and a penalty goal to the hosts’ solitary conversion have them the upper hand for a 29-22 victory.

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The victory for the Stormers saw them leap from 10th place on the log to seventh on 23 points from nine games, while the Sharks advanced from 11th to ninth place (21 points).

Stormers unbeaten in 4 matches

The Bulls are 12th with 18 points and the Lions 14th on 12 points, but the four SA teams still have the luxury of a game in hand against most of their rivals further up on the standings.

The Stormers extended their unbeaten run matches to four this year.

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The only try scored in the first half was a pearler by Stormers No 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, who made a great break through the defence and stepped on the gas to touch down to add to a conversion and penalty goal by Manie Libbok (flyhalf), while the Lions’ only points were compliments of a penalty goal by flyhalf Tiaan Swanepoel, which saw the visitors take a 10-3 half-time lead.

The Cape side picked up where they left off in the second half with Libbok adding his second penalty goal, and they built on this with tries in quick succession by Seabelo Senatla and Sergeal Petersen (both wings) and later man-of-the match Deon Fourie.

The Lions refused to give up and scored their only try compliments of Morne van den Berg (replacement scrumhalf), and Jordan Hendrikse’s (replacement flyhalf) conversion pushed their score into double figures for 10 points, which saw them settle for a 32-10 defeat.

SCORERS:

Lions

Try: Morne van den Berg

Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse

Penalty: Tiaan Swanepoel

Stormers

Tries: Hacjivah Dayimani, Seabelo Senatla, Sergeal Petersen, Deon Fourie

Conversions: Manie Libbok (3)

Penalties: Libbok (2)

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Meanwhile, the Sharks returned to winning ways in the United Rugby Championship when they scored a bonus-point 29-22 victory (half-time 19-5) over a 14-man Bulls team after flyhalf Morne Steyn was ordered off the field with a red card for a needless tackle that was high and late on Sharks captain Lukhanyo Am (centre) in the 11th minute of the match.

The Durbanites were full value for the win, making the most of their opportunities to score four tries at Loftus Versfeld even though the men in blue dominated territory and possession.

After the Sharks took a 14-0 lead courtesy of tries by Henco Venter (flank) and Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi, the hosts fought back bravely and were rewarded for their resilience when Cornal Hendricks (right wing) touched down in the right-hand corner. Their joy was short-lived though as Am regathered the next restart, grubbered ahead and fell on the ball to restore his team’s 14-point lead at the break.

The Bulls reduced the deficit early in the second half when their captain and flank, Marcell Coetzee, scored a power-try, but 15 minutes later, the Sharks’ lead was back at 14 points when Springbok speedster Makazole Mapimpi scored the easiest of tries from an attacking scrum.

The men from Pretoria kept hammering away, especially after Grant Williams (scrumhalf) was red carded for the visitors for a dangerous tackle on Chris Smith (flyhalf), and with playing numbers even, Simphiwe Matanzima (replacement prop) and Madosh Tambwe (left wing) found holes in the visitors’ defence, and although it ensured they got two bonus points from the game, it was too little, too late for the Bulls.

SCORERS:

Bulls

Tries: Cornal Hendricks, Marcell Coetzee, Simphiwe Matanzima, Madosh Tambwe

Conversion: Chris Smith

Sharks

Tries: Henco Venter, Bongi Mbonambi, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi

Conversions: Joaquín Díaz Bonilla (2), Curwin Bosch

Penalty: Bosch

CASE CLOSED! | THE DEFINITIVE RASSIE ERASMUS CASE TIMELINE