The Bulls and Stormers kept alive their aspirations to host United Rugby Championship (URC) playoffs in a largely rewarding weekend for the South African teams, with the only blemish being the Lions’ defeat against defending champions, Munster.
ROUND 14 RECAP
The Sharks kicked off the action on Friday night where they held their nerve in a tight finish against the Scarlets in Llanelli for a bonus-point 32-27 victory, with Werner Kok earning a hat-trick in his 50th game for the franchise, and on Saturday the Bulls thumped Ospreys 61-24 in Pretoria and the Stormers outplayed Leinster 42-12 in Cape Town, with both sides earning a full house of points.
The Lions, meanwhile, suffered a disappointing 33-13 defeat against Munster in Johannesburg, where they battled to keep up from the first half, with the visitors building a 23-6 lead.
These results saw the Bulls finish Round 15 in fourth place on the table (51 points) with two home games and a derby left against the Sharks in the closing round, while the Stormers – who have a two-week tour lined up before hosting the Lions at home in the final pool round – are in fifth position with 45 log points.
Lower down on the standings, the Lions remained in 11th position on 39 points, although they could still finish in the top eight with their three remaining matches in South Africa, while the Sharks are in 13th position with 23 points, but with their playoff hopes dashed already, they will be desperate to finish in a higher log position with three home games in hand.
URC SCORERS IN GAMES INVOLVING SA TEAMS (ROUND 15)
URC result: Scarlets 27-32 Sharks
Scarlets – Tries: Ryan Elias, Kemsley Mathias, Ioan Nicholas. Conversions: Sam Costelow (3). Penalty goals: Costelow (2).
Sharks – Tries: Werner Kok (3), Vincent Koch. Conversions: Siya Masuku (3). Penalty goals: Masuku (2).
URC result: Bulls 61-24 Ospreys
Bulls – Tries: Johan Grobbelaar, David Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse (2), Canan Moodie (2), Embrose Papier, Penalty Try, Willie le Roux. Conversions: Chris Smith (7).
Ospreys – Tries: Luke Davies, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles. Conversions: Jack Walsh (2).
URC result: Lions 13-33 Munster
Lions – Try: PJ Botha. Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse. Penalty goals: Hendrikse (2).
Munster – Tries: Jack O’Donoghue, Shane Daly, Gavin Coombes, Penalty Try. Conversion: Jack Crowley. Penalty goals: Crowley (3).
URC result: Stormers 42-12 Leinster
Stormers – Tries: Ben Loader, Salmaan Moerat, Herschel Jantjies, Willie Engelbrecht, Warrick Gelant. Conversions: Manie Libbok (4). Penalty goals: Libbok (3).
Leinster – Tries: Max Deegan, Rob Russell. Conversion: Sam Pendergast.
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