The DHL Stormers won the race for the South African Shield, but now face a battle from Ulster for second place as the Irish side has the defending champions in their crosshairs.

Ulster are currently in third place on the Vodacom United Rugby Championship table, five points behind the Stormers.

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The reigning champions retained the South African Shield after their bonus-point win over the Sharks was followed by the Lions stunning the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

However, the Stormers’ next battle will be to hold on to second place, as Ulster coach Dan McFarland admitted that his side are eager to take advantage of a favourable run-in.

“We are in a battle at the top of the league,” said McFarland. “It was a weekend where the teams around us in the table had home games and were putting up bonus point wins. It was important we got a result and I thought the lads played well.

“Our target is the Stormers. We want to finish second.

“I know that’s not in our control. We are obviously reliant on other results, but that has to be our aim.

“To have a chance of achieving that, we are going to have to win our last three games. That’s going to be really tough, but that’s the objective. Finishing in the top two has to be the target.

“Getting home ties in the play-offs is important. We understand that. Not having a home semifinal was a big difference last season. We know we can win away from home, but we would much rather be playing in front of our fans.”

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Ulster’s three remaining games will all be played at home against Bulls (March 25), Dragons (April 14) and Edinburgh (April 21).

Meanwhile, when the tournament resumes after a two-week break, the Stormers will travel to Dublin to take on unbeaten Leinster.

“It’s nice to have three home games definitely. We love playing at Ravenhill, but the bottom line is the next team that comes are the Bulls,” said McFarland.

“We know what they can do in Ireland when they are on form. They lost at home to the Lions this weekend, so they are going to be smarting. They will come fully loaded. We know that’s going to be a tremendous challenge.

“Everybody is fighting for something in this league. That’s why it’s such an exciting league to be involved in.”

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