The weekend's SA Rugby Under-21 Cup fixtures produced a fourth win for the unbeaten Fidelity ADT Lions U21 side, while there were also big wins for the Vodacom Bulls U21 and DHL Western Province U21, with both teams scoring more than 70 points.
The log leaders from Johannesburg maintained their unblemished record when they outplayed the Hollywoodbets Sharks U21 33-19 in their fourth-round clash in Durban on Saturday.
The Lions inflicted a third defeat on their Durban opponents while stretching their unbeaten run to four games and their tally at the top of the league table to 19 points. They led 28-14 at the halftime break of this encounter.
The Highvelders scored four tries, two conversions and four penalty goals - with the kicks converted by flyhalf Sam Francis - while the team from KwaZulu-Natal responded with three tries and two conversions.
The second-placed Bulls ran in 11 tries against the Free Staters in their 71-14 victory at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Friday afternoon. They had already registered 38 points without reply by the halftime break.
Steven Nel (scrumhalf) and Luyolo Doyi (right wing) each scored a brace of tries for the team in light blue, while Regan Izaks (fullback) also scored a try to add to his eight successful conversions for a personal tally of 21 points.
Replacements Sifi Mpanza (hooker) and Liam Prinsloo (outside back) scored consolation tries for the young men from Bloemfontein, which were both converted by flyhalf Shaun Ray.
DHL WP scored 11 converted tries in their 77-5 drubbing of the Leopards in their Saturday afternoon match at the City Park in Athlone, Cape Town. The hosts were already 42-5 ahead at the interval.
Speedy left-wing Jared Africa was the pick of the bunch by scoring four tries. Imad Khan, who played for the Junior Boks in 2022 and 2023, converted eight of the tries, while flyhalf Alex Vermeulen slotted the three other conversions. Winger Angelo Daniels scored the Leopards' solo try in the first half.
After four rounds of action, the Lions are leading the way with 19 points, followed by the Bulls (16 points), WP (13), Sharks, Cheetahs (both five points) and Leopards (two).
In the next round of fixtures, WP face the Cheetahs at home while the Leopards host the Sharks in Potchefstroom in the two Friday games. On Saturday, there is a top-of-the-table clash at Emirates Airline Park between the two teams at the top of the log, the Lions and Bulls.
Scorers:
Hollywoodbets Sharks 19 (14) Fidelity ADT Lions 33 (28)
Sharks - Tries: Nick Hatton, Maurice Willemse, Hakeem Kunene. Conversions: Jean Smith (2).
Lions - Tries: Marno Grobbelaar, Dewet Fourie, Layton Horn, Likhona Finca. Conversions: Sam Francis (2). Penalty goals: Francis (3).
Vodacom Bulls 71 (38) Toyota Cheetahs U21 14 (0)
Bulls - Tries: Steven Nel (2), Luyolo Doyi (2), Abulele Ndabambi, Marco Ferreira, Jaydon Bantom, Alfondso Isaacs, Regan Izaks, Tatenda Chayayi, Tenda Mapungwana. Conversions: Izaks (8).
Cheetahs - Tries: Sifi Mpanza, Liam Prinsloo. Conversions: Shaun Ray (2).
DHL WP 77 (42) Leopards 5 (5)
WP - Tries: Jared Africa (4), Matthew Beckett, Joshua Eras, Herman Lubbe, Carel van der Merwe, Andre Goedhals, Xola Nyali, Ezekiel Ngobeni. Conversions: Imad Khan (8), Alex Vermeulen (3).
Leopards - Try Angelo Daniels.