Valuable bonus point victories ensured the Vodacom Bulls, DHL Stormers and Emirates Lions stayed in the quarter-finals race in the third last pool round of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, but unfortunately for the Hollywoodbets Sharks, they went down by a point against Benetton in Durban.
The DHL Stormers took the field first and a strong second-half fightback set up the DHL Stormers for a significant 44-21 bonus point victory against the Dragons at Rodney Parade on Friday night, where they were forced to bounce back from an 11-10 halftime deficit for a vital Vodacom URC victory on tour.
The Vodacom Bulls followed with a 40-34 win against log-leaders the Glasgow Warriors in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon, ensuring that they remained in the race for a top-four finish for a possible Vodacom URC home quarter-final.
The Emirates Lions scored two tries in the last 10 minutes against Cardiff at Emirates Airline Park to seal a rewarding 34-13 bonus-point victory against the Welsh visitors to keep alive their Vodacom URC playoff hopes.
A red card with five minutes left to play cost the Hollywoodbets Sharks a possible bonus-point victory against Benetton at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, with the team having to settle for a heart-breaking 25-24 defeat in a tense Vodacom URC clash on Saturday afternoon.
These outcomes allowed the Vodacom Bulls to remain in fourth position on the standings for a likely home quarter-final and possibly a top-two finish as they trail the first-placed Glasgow Warriors by only four points with two league rounds remaining, while the DHL Stormers maintained their fifth place with 50 points.
The Emirates Lions also still harbour high hopes of a top-eight finish, as they are currently in 10th position on 44 points, the same as the ninth-placed Connacht, and both teams only trail the eighth-placed Benetton by only four points.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks managed to move up a place to 12th thanks to their two points from their match against Benetton, but they will be playing purely for pride in their remaining two matches.
