The Vodacom Bulls shone bright over their South African counterparts in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship this past weekend, with the Pretoria outfit being the only of the four franchises to come away with a victory as the competition struck round 14.
The Vodacom Bulls thumped Zebre Parma 63-24 in Pretoria, but it was a case of disappointment all around for the other teams as the 14-man DHL Stormers suffered a narrow 38-34 defeat against Ulster in Belfast, the Hollywoodbets Sharks went down 10-7 against Leinster in Durban, and the Emirates Lions were on the receiving end of a heavy 42-0 defeat against the Glasgow Warriors in Scotland.
These results saw the Vodacom Bulls hold onto third place on the table (50 points) – four behind defending champions the Glasgow Warriors and 12 behind Leinster – while the Hollywoodbets Sharks (45 points) remained in fourth place, the DHL Stormers sunk to 10th-place (35 points) – one behind the eighth placed Edinburgh – and the Emirates slipped a position to 14th as they remained on 30 points.
With four pool games remaining in the cross-hemisphere showpiece, the Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks will have their sights set firmly on remaining in the top four for possible home quarter-finals, while the DHL Stormers and Emirates Lions are under more pressure to win their remaining games to keep alive their playoff hopes.
