There are now just two unbeaten teams in the Vodacom URC, the DHL Stormers and Munster Rugby, and they lead the way at the top of the table, having both won all five of their matches so far this season.
The DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Lions finished the first block of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in the top eight on the log, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks finally won their first game of the season as the competition takes a break for the November Tests.
The Capetonians are still at the top of the standings after a hard-fought 31-16 victory over Benetton in Italy on Saturday, with Jurie Matthee scoring 21 points for the visitors.
Earlier in the day, the KwaZulu-Natalians beat the Scarlets by 29-19 in Durban and while they were still not firing on all cylinders, Sharks fans would have been happy to see their team break their duck.
Jozi’s Pride were on fire as they dealt Ulster their first defeat of the season, scoring seven tries at Ellis Park on their way to a comprehensive 49-31 victory that moved the Lions into the top half of the standings.
The men from Pretoria came up short in a tough clash against the Glasgow Warriors in Scotland, where the hosts won 21-12 courtesy of a strong finish.
Meanwhile, Munster were pushed all the way in their Irish derby with Connacht Rugby at Limerick’s Thomond Park, but came through 17-15 in the end. Flanker Jack O’Donoghue was the man to claim the match-winning try 12 minutes from time in front of a crowd of 16,512.
Cardiff Rugby made it four wins from their first five Vodacom URC matches with home victories over the Vodacom Bulls and Edinburgh Rugby, respectively, to lie level on 20 points in third and fourth.
As for Cardiff, they beat Edinburgh 20-19 at the Arms Park thanks to a late long-range penalty from fly-half Ioan Lloyd, while the Welsh derby between Dragons RFC and the Ospreys produced a 19-19 draw at Rodney Parade.
Elsewhere, champions Leinster Rugby claimed a 50-26 bonus point win at home to Zebre Parma.
The Welsh derby between the Dragons and the Ospreys at Rodney Parade ended in a 19-19 draw, leaving both camps disappointed. The hosts narrowly missed out on an elusive league victory for the second time in the opening block of matches, having also drawn with the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Round 2.
Having come from behind to level the scores, they had two late chances to claim a first Vodacom URC win since they beat the same opponents on the opening day of last season, but fly-half Tinus de Beer was off target with a conversion and a penalty.
The league now takes a four-week break as the focus switches to the autumn internationals.
