The Sharks secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions Cup, while the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls positioned themselves to follow suit, after thrilling wins this weekend.
But, it was only disappointment for the Cheetahs and Lions in the Challenge Cup, with both sides losing away from home, although The Pride – laying third in Pool A – are still primed to clinch a spot in the playoffs after the final round of group fixtures next week.
The Sharks secured their place in the knockout stages of the Champions Cup when they romped to a 32-3 bonus-point win over an outclassed Bordeaux-Begles outfit that conceded four yellow cards at Kings Park on Saturday evening.
HIGHLIGHTS: Sharks and Bulls run riot, Lions stumble
Full of enterprise, the fast hands and even faster tempo of the hosts overwhelmed the French visitors, while they were eaten alive by the Springbok-laden pack at scrum time.
In the other Pool A clash in the Republic that night, the sixth-placed Bulls delivered a classy display against the Exeter Chiefs for a valuable 39-28 bonus-point victory in their match at Loftus Versfeld.
The hosts dominated the second half and converted most of their try-scoring opportunities, which saw them add three tries to take their tally to six while the visitors –who were reduced to 14 men after captain Henry Slade received a red card for a dangerous tackle on Kurt-Lee Arendse – were limited to two.
And on Sunday, the Stormers were stuck in cruise control as they clinched a 28-14 bonus-point win over 13-man London Irish in Brentford.
HIGHLIGHTS: Stormers cruise against 13-man Irish
The hosts lost fullback Ben Loader to a red card on 17 minutes for a head-on-head tackle on Manie Libbok, which brought a premature end to the flyhalf’s afternoon as well as he failed his subsequent head injury assessment.
The Capetonians scored three answered tries to lead 21-0 at halftime before replacement prop Ciaran Parker saw red for a dangerous cleanout on Deon Fourie two minutes into the second half.
John Dobson would’ve been frustrated that his charges didn’t make the most of their two-man advantage as a combination of aimless kicking and forced passes saw them add just one more try to their tally, while the die-hard hosts replied with two.
Nevertheless, the full five log points were secured as the Stormers did the double over the Exiles, whom they defeated at home in the previous round, and boosted their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
In the final round of Champions Cup group matches, the Bulls travel to France to face Lyon on Friday (10pm), and less than 24 hours later, the Sharks renew hostilities with Harlequins in London (3pm), before the Stormers host Clermont at Cape Town Stadium (7:30pm).
5️⃣ teams qualified from Pool A this weekend!
Congratulations to @leinsterrugby, @SharksRugby, @Saracens, @ExeterChiefs and @EdinburghRugby who have reached the #HeinekenChampionsCup Round of 16 ?
Where are your team in the standings? pic.twitter.com/bDQ5KD8GbQ
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 15, 2023
In Pool B, @StadeToulousain, @staderochelais and @LeicesterTigers all qualified for the #HeinekenChampionsCup this weekend ?
Plenty to play for next week, who do you think will join them? ?♂️ pic.twitter.com/TW4FArZiGL
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 15, 2023
In the Challenge Cup, the Cheetahs showed grit to push the Scarlets to the limit in their rematch in Llanelli on Friday night, but ultimately succumbed 20-17, which leaves the men from Bloem in a desperate playoff scramble in the final round of the pool stage next weekend, as Hawies Fourie’s troops face Pau in Parma on Sunday (5:15pm).
Three yellow cards in the second half, and missed opportunities in the first, saw the Lions subside to a disappointing 17-7 defeat to Stade Francais in wet and windy Paris on Saturday.
The visitors were well worth their 7-0 halftime lead but were unable to resist a second half fightback by the French team and, with two minutes remaining, Stade Francais kicked a fourth penalty in the half to deny the Lions what would have been some reward in the form of a losing bonus point.
The loss was also the Lions fourth in a row, after heavy Vodacom United Rugby Championship defeats against the Sharks, Stormers and Munster in previous weeks, and now have to pick themselves up for their final two games on tour, in the Challenge Cup against Dragons in Newport on Sunday (3pm), and in the URC against Connacht in Galway the following week.
Round Three ✅
1️⃣ qualification spot left in Pool A, with 5️⃣ teams still in with a shot ?
Bring on next weekend ?#ChallengeCupRugby pic.twitter.com/TzDklEv4HD
— EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) January 15, 2023
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter