The DHL Stormers, Munster and Ulster are still unbeaten in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship. At the same time, the Vodacom Bulls bounced back in Ireland, and the Lions recorded their first victory of the season in Johannesburg. However, the Hollywoodbets Sharks are still searching for that elusive maiden win.
The Vodacom Bulls had to dig deep to beat a spirited Connacht side in Galway on Friday night, but they managed to hold on for a 28-27 victory despite being outscored by four tries to three.
On Saturday afternoon, the Lions made the most of their home ground advantage at Ellis Park to defeat the Scarlets by 29-18 in a match that came alive at the end, securing their first win of the new season in the process.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks could not follow in the footsteps of their Gauteng counterparts as they were made to pay for a slow start against Ulster, ultimately going down by 34-26 against the Irish side in Durban.
And on Saturday evening, the DHL Stormers were made to work hard for their fourth win on the bounce by Zebre Parma, but they eventually had too much power, beating their Italian hosts by 31-13.
Munster made a big statement in the Croke Park cracker. A Croke Park crowd of 51,859 saw Munster Rugby deliver a statement performance as they claimed a 31-14 bonus point victory over champions Leinster Rugby to maintain their flying start to the campaign. They outscored their arch rivals by four tries to two and backed that up with an immense defensive display to make it four wins from four in the URC this season.
Glasgow Warriors remain in third, having beaten the Ospreys 42-17 in Bridgend with scrum-half Jamie Dobie posting two tries.
Cardiff Rugby also claimed a bonus point win on their travels to stay in fourth as they triumphed 24-17 in the east Wales derby against Dragons RFC at Rodney Parade. Cardiff racked up four tries, all from forwards, including one from flanker Alex Mann who picked up the Player of the Match award as he produced a timely performance with the Wales squad for the autumn internationals being announced on Tuesday.
Having suffered narrow defeats away to Zebre and Munster, Edinburgh broke their duck in style with a 43-0 victory over Benetton Rugby at the Hive Stadium.
What’s coming next? It’s the conclusion of the opening block of Vodacom URC fixtures next weekend before the focus switches to the autumn internationals. The table-topping DHL Stormers take on the next leg of their Italian job as they face Benetton in Treviso, while second-placed Munster have another Irish derby, with Connacht the visitors to Thomond Park.
Glasgow, in third, welcome the Vodacom Bulls to Scotstoun for what looks like a really compelling contest. Fourth-placed Cardiff entertain Edinburgh at the Arms Park, while there’s a Welsh derby with the Dragons hosting the Ospreys at Rodney Parade.
Elsewhere, it’s Hollywoodbets Sharks v Scarlets, with both teams looking for a first win of the season, Lions v Ulster and Leinster v Zebre.
Results Week 4:
