The DHL Stormers and Sharks strengthened their chances of favourable playoff fixtures in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship before a week’s break in the competition.
The Stormers, who remained in second place on the URC standings thanks to their nail-biting 23-19 victory against the Vodacom Bulls in front of a packed crowd of over 41,205 spectators at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, trail unbeaten log-leaders Leinster by 12 points with four rounds of matches remaining.
The Sharks, in turn, scored three second-half tries to break a half-time deadlock against the Lions at Ellis Park for a bonus-point 29-7 win, which saw them jump up one place on the log into seventh – three points above the eighth-placed Connacht – and with the luxury of a game in hand.
HIGHLIGHTS: Stormers conquer packed Loftus
The defeat dropped the Bulls into sixth place on 41 points, 25 points behind Leinster, while the Lions slipped one rung to 14th place with 24 points.
In other results, Glasgow Warriors edged Ulster 17-11, Cardiff had the better of Benetton (30-13), Leinster proved too good for the Dragons (43-14), Scarlets defeated Edinburgh (42-14), while Irish giants Munster and Connacht hammered Ospreys and Zebre, 58-3 and 57-34, respectively.
Looking ahead to Saturday, the Sharks host Ulster at Kings Park (2pm) in a rescheduled round 6 encounter, before the Lions and Glasgow clash in Johannesburg (4:10pm).
The next full round of URC matches is scheduled for next week when the Stormers and Sharks lock horns in Cape Town on 4 March (2:30pm) in the first of the weekend’s local derbies, before the Bulls host the Lions at Loftus (4:45pm).
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