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

Most teams have now played 10 games, and the Bulls find themselves in third place on the log with 30 points, one more than the Sharks in fourth place.

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

THE SHARKS AND BULLS LEAD THE WAY FOR SA TEAMS ON THE URC LOG

MATCH RESULTS

Fired up Bulls outclass Lions

A fired-up Bulls team were too good for the Lions in an intense 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.

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

Scorers:

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

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.

Sharks deliver the goods in Cardiff

The 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 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.

The Sharks did finish with a flourish, though, 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.

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

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

The Stormers ultimately 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.

The Stormers and Lions are in the bottom half of the table – the Capetonians are 12th on 21 points and the Johannesburg-based team are 13th on 19 points.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THESE LATEST RESULTS?

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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/sharks/updated-urc-log-after-big-wins-for-sharks-bulls/