URC Roundup | SA teams show grit in penultimate round

The Stormers, Bulls, and Lions all remained in the running for hosting United Rugby Championship quarter-finals in a riveting penultimate pool round, which delivered a dramatic draw, two bonus-point victories and only one defeat for the South African teams.

The Stormers set the tone for the round as they secured a last-gasp 38-38 draw against Ulster in Belfast on Friday night, and the Bulls and Sharks followed with sensational bonus-point victories on Saturday, thumping Zebre Parma 54-19 in Pretoria and Benetton 46-7 in Durban.

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But it was heartbreak for the Lions, who leaked three late tries in an epic battle against Investec Champions Cup finalists Leinster in Dublin to suffer a disappointing 31-7 defeat, which brought their six-match winning streak to a halt.

The weekend’s results saw the Stormers (59 points) drop from first place on the standings to second – one point behind the Glasgow Warriors and one more than Leinster – while the Bulls’ victory saw them leap up to fourth place (54 pts).

With Munster (51 pts) and Cardiff (50 pts) also on the losing side, the Lions only dropped one spot to fifth (53 pts), leaving all three teams in contention for home quarter-finals going into the final pool round next week. The Sharks held onto 10th spot on the table with 41 points.

There was high drama in Belfast on Friday night as a penalty try awarded to the Stormers in the final minute secured them a 38-38 draw against Ulster in a 10-try URC thriller at the Affidea Stadium.

With pressure on both teams to produce a top-drawer performance, the game had it all – good running rugby, ferocious defence, breakaway tries, and fantastic fight – and, in the end, Ulster’s six tries to four by the Stormers, in addition to their penalty try, saw the match finish in a stalemate.

The hosts opened the scoring in the fourth minute with former Blitzbok Werner Kok dotting down, but this was cancelled out almost immediately by Evan Roos following a powerful run in midfield.

The Irishmen found themselves a man down in the ninth minute following a yellow card for a croc roll on Deon Fourie, which was upgraded to a 20-minute red card, but this also took a toll on the South Africans as the Stormers captain left the field injured.

The Capetonians capitalised on this and built momentum on attack, which paved the way for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to score in the 15th minute, and he added a penalty goal to stretch their lead to 17-7. Two tries before the break by Ulster, however, nudged the home side into a 21-17 half-time lead.

Ulster scored the first try in the second stanza, but the Stormers responded with a great try by Imad Khan, and Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s brace in the 64th minute saw the Capetonians take a handy 31-26 lead.

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Ulster, however, kept fighting, and the rewards followed with Kok earning his hat-trick in the 69th minute, and they added another try in the 75th minute to go 38-31 up with four minutes left to play.

Piling pressure on the Stormers, Jurie Matthee was yellow-carded, which reduced them to 14 men for the remainder of the match. Despite this, the visitors fought back bravely, with Leolin Zas being held up over the tryline in the final minute, but a high tackle by the visitors in the process earned them a penalty try to see the match finish in a dramatic 38-all draw.

Ulster 38 (21) – Tries: Werner Kok (3), Zac Ward, Mike Lowry, Eric O'Sullivan. Conversions: Nathan Doak (4).

Stormers 38 (17) – Tries: Evan Roos, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Imad Khan, penalty try. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (4). Penalty goal: Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

The Bulls produced a classy display of rugby in a largely one-sided encounter against Zebre Parma at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday to secure an invaluable bonus-point 54-19 victory, with the hosts scoring an impressive eight tries to three to take a rewarding leap up the URC standings.

The men from Pretoria dominated territory and possession throughout the game and looked set to secure a big victory from the outset. They did not disappoint, earning their bonus point by the 30th minute, and they added four tries in the second half to strike a half-century of points.

The Bulls attacked strongly from the kick-off, and it took only two minutes for veteran Springbok Willie le Roux to score their first try from great running and passing, and they built on this with their second try in the 13th minute from a strong run by Canan Moodie on the outside to take a 14-0 lead.

Zebre Parma hit back with an intercept try in the 19th minute, but this was cancelled out as Cheswill Jooste and Sergeal Petersen added their names to the scoresheet to snatch their bonus point and an encouraging 26-7 lead. The Bulls leaked their second try on the stroke of half-time, but this did not dampen their spirits, as they entered the sheds 26-12 up.

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The men in blue picked up where they left off when play resumed with Ruan Vermaak touching down, but the Italians again hit back with their third try at the end of the third quarter to reduce their deficit to 33-19.

It was one-way traffic for the Bulls in the final quarter, as Cameron Hanekom scored after picking up the ball at the base of a ruck, before Harold Vorster darted through a big hole in the defence, and Jeandre Rudolph took them over the 50-point mark after side-stepping a defender on the outside to force his way over, which sealed them an important 54-19 victory.

Bulls 54 (26) – Tries: Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Cheswill Jooste, Sergeal Petersen, Ruan Vermaak, Cameron Hanekom, Harold Vorster, Jeandre Rudolph. Conversions: Le Roux (7).