It was a perfect round for the four South African teams in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship as the competition reached the halfway stage, with the local teams proving too strong for their Welsh visitors on a weekend that delivered 26 tries in the Republic.
The Cell C Sharks, bolstered by a bunch of returning Boks, bounced back from last weekend’s defeat and subsequent coaching changes to beat the Ospreys by 25-10 in Durban on Friday night.
On Saturday, the DHL Stormers played a home game in the Eastern Cape and outlasted the Dragons with a bonus-point 34-26 victory, but the Capetonians would not have been too happy with conceding four tries themselves, although Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok was in sublime form and scored half of their points.
The Vodacom Bulls were too strong for Cardiff in the second game on Saturday and scored six tries without reply as they won 45-9, with Bok speedster Canan Moodie crossing for two tries, and on Sunday, the Emirates Lions leap-frogged four teams to fifth on the log with their bonus-point win over the Scarlets on a hot afternoon in Johannesburg.
Table-topping Leinster’s victory over Ulster on Saturday meant that the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers moved up to second and third spots on the standings, while the Emirates Lions and Cell C Sharks also moved up.
Leinster’s perfect record from nine games see them top the log on 43 points, followed by the Vodacom Bulls (34 from nine) and DHL Stormers (34 from eight), while Ulster (31 from eight) are in fourth.
In fifth position, the Emirates Lions (24 from eight) are still firmly in the race for the top eight, while the Cell C Sharks are in 10th spot (19 from seven). Edinburgh (23 from nine), Cardiff (22 from nine), Munster (22 from nine) and Glasgow Warriors (20 from eight) lead the Durbanites on the log, while Connacht and Benetton (both on 19 from nine) are not far behind.
