The Vodacom Bulls were the only SA team to win in round 12 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship before a two-week hiatus in the competition.
On Friday night, the men from Pretoria started and finished strong to score a 29-14 bonus-point win over the Dragons at Rodney Parade in Newport, putting two derby defeats behind them to climb to third on the URC standings.
However, the Lions slipped to a third straight defeat in the competition as they went down 33-3 to a resurgent Munster side in Cork.
HIGHLIGHTS: Heartbreak for Stormers in Glasgow thriller
Saturday’s URC assignment in gusty Galway proved mountainous for a much-changed Sharks side – the Durbanites sent a drastically overhauled team, under the guidance of Currie Cup head coach Joey Mongalo, to Ireland only to lose 24-12 to Connacht.
And on Sunday, a last-gasp try by Glasgow Warriors wing Sebastian Cancelliere condemned the DHL Stormers to a heart-breaking 24-17 defeat in a thrilling clash at Scotstoun Stadium.
In the standings, the Stormers remain second overall and top of the SA Shield, but are now 11 points adrift of Leinster, and six ahead of the Bulls. The Sharks have slipped out of the top eight – from fifth to ninth – but have two games in hand on several teams above them.
HIGHLIGHTS: Connacht too good for Sharks dirt-trackers
The Lions also have an extra game still to play, but their playoff hopes are hanging by a thread after dropping another spot to 12th.
In other results, Benetton edged Ulster 31-29, Edinburgh saw off the challenge of Zebre (24-17), Scarlets claimed bragging rights in an all-Welsh affair in Cardiff (28-22), while league leaders Leinster claimed a gutsy 24-19 victory against the Ospreys in Wales.
The next round of URC matches is scheduled for the last weekend of January, when the Bulls and Stormers travel to face the Scarlets and Ulster respectively (27 January), before the Sharks lock horns with Edinburgh, and the Lions tackle Connacht, also away from home (28 January).
HIGHLIGHTS: Bulls slay Dragons, Munster tame Lions
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