The Lions hammered the Sharks by 26 points at Ellis Park, while the Stormers edged the Bulls in a thriller at Loftus Versfeld.
The two South African derbies in the United Rugby Championship this weekend delivered big time this weekend, as the Lions and Stormers surprisingly pulled off two crucial victories over better-placed and more favoured opponents.
LIONS ROAR PAST TOOTHLESS SHARKS
The Lions tore the Sharks to shreds in a six-try 38-14 win in Johannesburg.
The result is the Lions’ third straight win over the men from Durban and takes them up to eighth in the URC standings. The Sharks dropped from third to fourth on the log.
The hosts scored three unanswered tries, coupled with two conversions, to take a healthy 19-0 lead in the break. They then pulled away in the second half with three more tries to make it 38-0.
Despite it coming too little, too late and merely serving a consolation, the Sharks did manage to cross the tryline twice in the final three minutes of the game to put a semblance of respectability on the scoreboard.
STORMERS BULLY BULLS IN STORMY CONDITIONS
Under-fire flyhalf Jurie Mathee accounted for 14 of the Stormers’ points in their nervy 19-16 win over arch rivals the Bulls at a rain-affected Loftus.
Kick off in the north-south derby, the blue-ribbon fixture on the South African provincial rugby calendar, was delayed by an hour and 15 minutes due to a severe thunderstorm in Pretoria. But when the match did get underway, it was the Stormers who adjusted better to the inclement weather conditions.
The result cost the Bulls their second spot on the URC table, as they are now third behind Leinster and the Glasgow Warriors. As for the Stormers, they climbed from 12th to ninth in the standings, a rise which boosts their bid for a top eight finish.
Mathee and Richard Kriel traded penalties back and forth in the first half, but it was the former who came out on top in that battle as his boot gave the Stormers a 12-9 lead at the halfway mark.
The second half was a tough battle in game-management, but ultimately it was the Stormers who emerged victories.
The Bulls scored the first try of the game through Ruan Vermaak, but it was Wandisile Simelane’s try, which came off a fortuitous bounce of the ball, that sealed the result in the Stormers’ favour.
WILL ALL FOUR SOUTH AFRICAN TEAMS MAKE THE URC PLAYOFFS?
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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/stormers/lions-shred-sharks-to-pieces-stormers-stun-bulls/
