The DHL Stormers’ unbeaten run ended as the Sharks and Lions remain winless, with the Vodacom Bulls the only South African team to win in round 3 of the Vodacom URC.
On Friday night, the Glasgow Warriors scored three first-half tries to beat the Stormers 20-9 at the Scotstoun Stadium. A Sione Tuipulotu score and then two from Johnny Matthews gave the Warriors an 11-point half-time lead, their situation helped by the Capetonians having Evan Roos and Joseph Dweba sin-binned in quick succession.
In London, the Sharks went down 19-5 to Welsh club Ospreys at the Twickenham Stoop, where a crowd of 7,183 witnessed John Plumtree’s men fall to their third consecutive URC defeat of 2023-24.
And on Sunday afternoon, tries from Malakai Fekitoa and Ignacio Mendy saw Benetton survive a Lions comeback to triumph 15-10 at the Stadio Monigo. Jordan Hendrikse kicked a penalty and Sanele Nohamba converted replacement prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye’s second-half try to level the scores at 10-10 in the final quarter, but Jacob Umaga’s floated pass allowed Mendy to make the corner nine minutes from time.
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The Bulls, though, had cause for celebration on Saturday, as David Kriel went in for a hat-trick of tries, with Akker van der Merwe and Devon Williams crossing for two apiece in a 54-29 bonus-point victory against Zebre Parma in Italy. Sergeal Petersen also touched down and Johan Goosen booted six conversions and Chris Smith one.
In other results, Leinster ended Edinburgh’s winning start to the season with a 36-27 bonus-point victory in Dublin, Scarlets defeated Cardiff (31-25) and Munster hammered the Dragons (45-14), while Connacht came from 17 points down to edge Ulster 22-20 and avoid their first defeat at the Sportsground since last December.
Following the weekend’s action, the Bulls have climbed three places to third on the table, but the Stormers have slipped from the summit to fourth spot, as the Lions (14th) and Sharks (16th) remain firmly rooted to the basement.
Looking ahead to round 4, the Sharks lock horns with Zebre in Parma on Friday (7:30pm), before the Bulls tackle Cardiff at Arms Park (9:35pm). Less than 24 hours later, the Stormers and Lions look to bounce back, against Benetton (5pm) and Scarlets (7:15pm) respectively.
Results: Round 3
Benetton 15-10 Lions
Connacht 22-20 Ulster
Munster 45-14 Dragons
Scarlets 31-25 Cardiff
Leinster 36-27 Edinburgh
Zebre 29-54 Bulls
Glasgow 20-9 Stormers
Ospreys 19-5 Sharks
Fixtures: Round 4
(Friday)
7.30pm, Zebre v Sharks
9.35pm, Cardiff v Bulls
9.35pm, Ulster v Munster
(Saturday)
5pm, Benetton v Stormers
7.15pm, Ospreys v Glasgow
7.15pm, Scarlets v Lions
9.35pm, Edinburgh v Connacht
(Sunday)
3.15pm, Dragons v Leinster
Photo: Roberto Bregani/Gallo Images