The Johannesburgers went down 24-12 against Edinburgh in Scotland on Friday; the team from Pretoria won 32-22 in the south west of France on Saturday; and the Durbanites suffered a disappointing 34-21 defeat against Lyon in France on Sunday.
While the Vodacom Bulls have a challenging few weeks ahead with their EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final at 13h30 (SA time) in Edinburgh on Saturday, followed by two Vodacom United Rugby Championship matches abroad against Munster and defending champions, the Glasgow Warriors, the remaining domestic teams will look to channel all their energy into qualifying for quarter-final spots on the Vodacom URC.
Edinburgh eliminate Emirates Lions from Challenge Cup
Edinburgh delivered the goods under pressure in the EPCR Challenge Cup on Friday night as they built on an encouraging 17-0 halftime lead at the Hive Stadium in the Scottish capital to bag a 24-12 win and a valuable place in the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final next weekend.
The Scots made a strong statement from the outset, scoring two tries in the first 10 minutes thanks to their effective attacking and ability to capitalise on their chances, and they added their third try in the 29th minute – shortly after Quan Horn received a yellow card – to extend their score to 17-0.
Fortunately for the Emirates Lions, they managed to deny the hosts further points before the break, and the scoreboard deficit certainly lit a fire under the visitors to deliver a better second-half display.
Edinburgh found themselves down to 14 men minutes after play resumed as Grant Gilchrist was sent to the sin bin, and the Johannesburgers made the most of this to score their first points of the match through a try by Francke Horn in the 47th minute.
Both teams battled to break through the defence again until the closing 10 minutes, with Ali Price crossing first for Edinburgh to stretch their lead to 22-5, but the Emirates Lions continued to show their fighting spirit, which paid off with their second try by Jaco Visagie, which Nico Steyn converted to see them go down 24-12.
With the team out of the EPCR Challenge Cup, they will now turn their attention fully to the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, where they currently occupy 14th position on the standings.
Scorers:
Edinburgh 24 (17) – Tries: Wes Goosen, Ben Vellacott, Jamie Ritchie, Ali Price. Conversions: Ross Thompson (2).
Emirates Lions 12 (0) – Tries: Francke Horn, Jaco Visagie. Conversion: Nico Steyn.
Vodacom Bulls bury Bayonne for quarter-final berth
The Vodacom Bulls continued to make a strong statement this season as they surprised Bayonne 32-22 at Stade Jean-Dauger in France on Saturday to progress to the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-finals this weekend.
The visitors’ dominant scrummaging, fine support play at the breakdown, as well as some scintillating running and teamwork by the backs, gave the Vodacom Bulls the impetus they needed to register the vital away victory.
The match went down to the wire after the Vodacom Bulls held a narrow 15-8 halftime lead, with a converted try by the hosts with four minutes left in the match putting them just seven points behind the men from Pretoria, but with Johan Goosen slotting a late penalty goal, the Vodacom Bulls left the playing enclosure satisfied.
Bayonne opened the scoring with a penalty goal, but Keagan Johannes levelled the scores in the 14th minute with a three-pointer of his own before Sergeal Petersen crossed for their first try after some enterprising play to push them five points up.
Both teams tried hard to breach the defence in the exchanges that followed, and with each side scoring a try apiece before halftime – Frederico Mori for Bayonne and Reinhardt Ludwig for the Vodacom Bulls – which saw the visitors entered the break with an encouraging 15-8 lead.
They picked up where they left off in the second half as Springbok front ranker Jan-Hendrik Wessels started running from deep in his own half and passing, before the ball ricochet and was gathered by David Kriel, which saw them lead by 22-8.
Bayonne struck back with their second try minutes later, which was followed by Akker van der Merwe receiving a yellow card for a dangerous tackle in the 55th minute.
This had no significant outcome on the game as Marco van Staden inflated their lead to 29-15 in the fourth quarter, and although they let Bayonne in once more in the dying minutes of the game, Goosen’s penalty goal wrapped up a rewarding performance for the team.
Scorers:
Bayonne 22 (8) – Tries: Federico Mori, Remy Bourdeau, Tom Spring. Conversions: Spring, Cheikh Tiberghien. Penalty goal: Baptiste Germain.
Vodacom Bulls 32 (15) – Tries: Sergeal Petersen, Reinhardt Ludwig, David Kriel, Marco van Staden. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (2), Johan Goosen. Penalty goals: Johannes, Goosen.
Lyon too good for Hollywoodbets Sharks in France
Lyon proved too good for the Hollywoodbets Sharks on Sunday as they outplayed the defending EPCR Challenge Cup champions 34-21, scoring five tries to three by the South Africans at Mamut Stadium de Gerland – four of which were dotted down in the first half.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks started the match looking promising as they ran hard on attack and applied pressure on the defence, and this paid off with Fez Mbatha scoring the first try of the match four minutes in from a powerful rolling maul and a 7-0 lead.
While the KwaZulu-Natalians struggled to make their presence felt for the remainder of the half due to mistakes at crucial times, Lyon got a wind in their sail and made the most of their chances, scoring four tries between the 18th and 38th minutes.
While some of their opportunities could have been considered opportunistic, the Hollywoodbets Sharks were their own worst enemies on defence as they found themselves short on numbers at the breakdowns at times and failed to capitalise on a few chances, which didn’t assist their cause and contributed to their 27-7 halftime deficit.
Both teams tried hard to stamp their authority on attack in the second half, which resulted in several possible try-scoring chances, but with the defenses holding strong and both teams making errors, all the real action occurred in the final quarter.
Lyon scored their fifth try in the 67th minute, but the Hollywoodbets Sharks hit back with two of their own by Corne Rahl and Tino Mavesere, which saw them settle for a 34-21 defeat, and deny them from defending their title.
Scorers:
Lyon 34 (27) – Tries: Alexandre Tchaptchet, Theo William, Yanis Charcosset, Josiah Maraku, Vincent Rattez. Conversions: Leo Berdu (3). Penalty Goal: Berdu (1).
Hollywoodbets Sharks 21 (7) – Tries: Fez Mbatha, Corne Rahl, Tino Mavesere. Conversions: Siya Masuku (2), Jean Smith.
