The Vodacom Bulls travel to England while the Sharks prepare for another blockbuster playoff at Kings Park in the quarter-finals of European cup competition this week.
The Bulls and Sharks provided a ray of light in an indifferent weekend for South Africa’s five teams in the last 16 of the Champions and Challenge cups.
Jake White’s charges, who thumped Lyon 59-19 in Pretoria, will face the Northampton Saints in England on Saturday in their top-eight fixture in the Champions Cup, while the Durbanites, who registered a resounding 47-3 win against Zebre Parma at the Shark Tank, will meet Edinburgh in their Challenge Cup quarter-final.
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The Stormers suffered a last-minute 22-21 defeat against defending champions La Rochelle in Cape Town in the Champions Cup, while the Cheetahs went down 27-22 against Clermont Auvergne in France and the Lions returned home after a 27-17 defeat against Benetton in Italy despite the hosts receiving a red card early in the second half.
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In a wrap of the remaining quarter-finals in the Champions Cup, Bordeaux-Begles host Harlequins on Saturday, before La Rochelle and Leinster clash at Aviva Stadium in a repeat of last season’s final, while five-time champions Toulouse face a home quarter-final against English club Exeter Chiefs on Sunday.
Gloucester and Ospreys will kick off the action in the Challenge Cup at Kingsholm on Friday, and 24 hours later, Clermont lock horns with Ulster at Stade Marcel-Michelin with Benetton and Connacht bringing the curtain down in Treviso the next day.
Champions Cup quarter-finals:
Saturday, 13 April
Bordeaux vs Harlequins, Bordeaux, 4pm
Leinster vs La Rochelle, Dublin, 5.30pm
Northampton vs Bulls, Franklin’s Gardens, 8pm
Sunday, 14 April
Toulouse vs Exeter, Toulouse, 4pm
Challenge Cup quarter-finals:
Friday, 12 April
Gloucester vs Ospreys, Gloucester, 8pm
Saturday, 13 April
Sharks vs Edinburgh, Durban, 1.30pm
Clermont v Ulster, Clermont, 1.30pm
Sunday, 14 April
Benetton vs Connacht, Treviso, 1.30pm
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
The post Euro cups: Bulls to tackle Saints, Sharks host Scots appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
