The Fidelity Securedrive Lions stunned the DHL Stormers at Ellis Park as they registered a 24-10 victory despite playing with 13 men for several minutes in the dying stages of the match, and the Vodacom Bulls completed the double for the Gauteng-based teams as they outclassed the Hollywoodbets Sharks at Loftus Versfeld for a well-deserved 41-12 bonus-point victory.

These results steered the Johannesburg side to their second home win in a row, with four more to look forward to, while the win for the Pretoria outfit marked their third successive victory, with the latter result dashing the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ hopes of claiming the SA Shield despite entering the round at the top of the local table.

In stark contrast to their rise in form, the DHL Stormers – who were unbeaten and leading the Vodacom URC after the first eight rounds – suffered their third defeat on the trot and now find themselves in fifth place with 36 points, nine points behind log-leaders the Glasgow Warriors.

The seventh-placed Fidelity Securedrive Lions, meanwhile, trail them by only three points (33 pts), while the Vodacom Bulls are in eighth place (30 pts), and the Hollywoodbets Sharks in 11^th position (24 pts).

The Lions and Sharks have six league matches remaining, while the Bulls and Stormers, whose rescheduled round eight clash takes place in Pretoria on 14 March, still have seven encounters in hand.

Lions show grit to beat Stormers in Johannesburg

There was high drama at Ellis Park on Saturday as the Fidelity Securedrive Lions built up a 24-10 lead against the DHL Stormers before receiving two cards in quick succession with minutes left to play, which saw them having to defend with sheer determination for the greatest part of the last 14 minutes to hold on for the vital Vodacom URC victory.

The hosts, who were more convincing with ball in hand, entered the break 14-0 up after tries by Sibabalwe Mahashe and Henco van Wyk within four minutes in the second quarter, which were both initiated by effective kicking, while they did well to shut out the DHL Stormers with their watertight defence.

The Capetonians, who seldom looked dangerous on attack, had chances to score in the first stanza, but failed to capitalise on a penalty goal and two try attempts, which left them scoreless going into the sheds, although the hosts were also disappointed after failing to cash in on at least three more possible point-scoring opportunities.

The DHL Stormers hit back shortly after the break with a penalty goal by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, but this was cancelled out minutes later as Erich Cronje crossed the chalk for the hosts’ third try after sustained pressure and good support play close to the tryline to stretch their lead to 21-3.

The visitors showed their fighting spirit and were rewarded in the 55^th minute as captain JD Schickerling darted through a gap close to the tryline to reduce their deficit to 11 points with 25 minutes left to play after an earlier attempt was denied.

Chris Smith added a penalty goal minutes later to stretch the Fidelity Securedrive Lions’ lead to 14 points, and then drama unfolded as Siba Qoma and Conrad van Vuuren received yellow cards – one of which was upgraded to a red card – which reduced them to 13 men.

They fought tooth and nail until the final whistle to hold onto the win, shutting out the DHL Stormers close to the tryline and almost scoring another try, which saw them clinch the rewarding victory, which was made so much sweeter a few hours later as they sealed the SA Shield when the Bulls shut out the Sharks 60km north in Pretoria.

Scorers:

Fidelity Securedrive Lions 24 (14) – Tries: Sibabalwe Mahashe, Henco van Wyk, Erich Cronje. Conversions: Chris Smith (3). Penalty goal: Smith.

DHL Stormers 10 (0) – Try: JD Schickerling. Conversion: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Penalty goal: Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Bulls run riot against Sharks at Loftus Versfeld

The Vodacom Bulls ran riot against the Hollywoodbets Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday as they scored an impressive seven tries to two by the Durbanites to register a memorable 41-12 Vodacom URC victory.

The home side were in control of the match for three of the four quarters, and with the team on fire in those stages of the match, the Hollywoodbets Sharks had only a brief time frame to try to force their way back into the game. While they looked threatening at times, it wasn’t long before the Pretoria outfit again dictated proceedings.

The Vodacom Bulls were rampant in the first half, running in four unanswered tries against the Hollywoodbets Sharks for an encouraging 22-0 halftime lead.

It was one-way traffic as they ran hard on attack and did well to capitalise on their pace, skill, and variation on attack, which saw Canan Moodie score from a chip-and-chase, Sebastian de Klerk from a stunning cross kick, and Embrose Papier touch down twice in seven minutes after receiving well-timed passes and using his raw pace to score, which sealed the Vodacom Bulls’ bonus point before the halftime hooter.

The Durbanites fought back with intent when play resumed, as Edwill van der Merwe scored from a fantastic backdoor pass to reduce their deficit to 17 points.

They continued to threaten on attack, launching one phase after the other close to the tryline before the final quarter. But two costly handling errors meant the KwaZulu-Natalians failed to add to their score, which left them playing catch-up rugby going into the final 20 minutes.

They finally broke through for their second try two minutes later as Hanro Jacobs forced his way underneath a defender to dot down, and the successful conversion by Jordan Hendrikse left them trailing by only 10 points.

The Vodacom Bulls, however, managed to regain their rhythm as Harold Vorster stepped around a defender after gathering a pass at pace before Paul de Wet sold the Hollywoodbets Sharks a convincing dummy to dart through, and Handre Pollard’s successful conversions pushed the match out of range for the Durbanites at 36-12 with minutes left on the clock.

Vorster struck again shortly before the final whistle to secure his brace, which saw the Vodacom Bulls finish the match with a flourish to walk away with a memorable victory while doing their southern neighbours a massive favour in the SA Shield title race.

Scorers:

Vodacom Bulls 41 (22) – Tries: Canan Moodie, Sebastian de Klerk, Embrose Papier (2), Harold Vorster (2), Paul de Wet. Conversions: Handre Pollard (3).

Hollywoodbets Sharks 12 (0) – Tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Hanro Jacobs. Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse.