The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers each claimed consecutive victories over the weekend in the second round of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks fought hard for a draw against the Dragons in Wales, and the Lions went down in a tense affair to Zebra Parma in Italy.
The DHL Stormers, who whitewashed Leinster in their opening clash last weekend, had to fight for their 26-10 success over the Ospreys in Cape Town on Friday evening, before the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Dragons shared the spoils 17-17 in their match played in a furious rainstorm in Wales.
Saturday evening saw the Vodacom Bulls turn the tables on Leinster, who defeated them in last season’s final in Dublin, with the Pretoria outfit securing a 39-31 win over the champions before they embark on their European tour.
In the last game of the weekend, the Lions came close but went down 22-20 for their first loss to the Italian side Zebra Parma, who scored the winning points with a few minutes left on the clock.
Munster Rugby are also two from two, having beaten Cardiff Rugby 23-20 at Limerick’s Thomond Park, with the goal-kicking of Player of the Match Jack Crowley proving the difference between the sides.
There was a dramatic finish in Treviso with super sub Rhyno Smith landing a 40 metre drop goal with the last kick of the game to earn Benetton Rugby a 16-14 victory over Glasgow Warriors. The home team’s international flanker Michele Lamaro commented: “It was a great game.
As for the impact of Storm Amy, which prevented the Edinburgh-Ulster and Connacht-Scarlets games from going ahead. The match in the Scottish capital was initially put back to a later kick-off time on Friday night before being postponed due to worsening weather conditions. Then, travel disruption and flight cancellations for the Scarlets caused by the storm saw their Galway clash with Connacht put off to a later date as well.
