The DHL Stormers defeated the Emirates Lions 29-10 in Cape Town in what marked their third victory in the competition this season, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks surprised the third-placed Vodacom Bulls in Durban in an encounter that kept fans in the packed stadium on the edge of their seats in the closing minutes as they broke a 17-all deadlock in the fourth quarter to win 20-17.

These results combined with all the other outcomes over the weekend saw the Vodacom Bulls hold onto third place on the table – only two points behind the Glasgow Warriors – while the Hollywoodbets Sharks shot up in fourth place on 23 points, only two behind the men from Pretoria.

The Emirates Lions are now in seventh place on 19 points, although the DHL Stormers still find themselves lower down the standings in 13^th position with 16 points.

While the Gauteng teams enjoy a short break over the remainder of the festive season, the DHL Stormers and Hollywoodbets Sharks will be in action next Saturday in an exciting coastal derby in Cape Town in their final games of the 2024.

DHL Stormers bounce back with crucial win over Emirates Lions

The DHL Stormers bounced back strongly from a disappointing run in recent weeks with a morale-boosting bonus point 29-10 Vodacom URC victory against the Emirates Lions in front of a passionate home crowd at the DHL Stadium after holding a handy 15-0 lead at the break.

The Johannesburgers started off strongly and applied pressure on the hosts’ defence, but they were heavily restricted on attack for most of the match after the DHL Stormers found their rhythm – and also having the luxury of an extra man for three quarters after Ruben Schoeman received a red card in the 21st minute for the Gauteng side.

Springbok hooker Jospeh Dweba crossed the chalk twice from strong rolling mauls in the opening 34 minutes, with Suleiman Hartzenberg scoring their other five-pointer in the half from a stunning cross kick to push the Capetonians 15-0 up, which they held onto going into the break.

The Gauteng side fought back strongly in the second half, and this paid off with a try by Edwill van der Merwe four minutes after play resumed, but they were handed another big blow soon after as Manuel Rass received a yellow card, which left them with 13 players for 10 minutes.

The DHL Stormers took immediate advantage of their numerical advantage with Leolin Zas adding another try, before Franco Marais touched down for the Emirates Lions’ second try in the 64^th minute.

The visitors continued to fight with everything they had in an attempt to reduce their deficit on the scoreboard in the dying minutes, but despite this, the DHL Stormers had the final say with Neethling Fouche rounding off some fantastic team play for their fifth try for a rewarding 29-10 victory.

Scorers:

DHL Stormers 29 (15) – Tries: Joseph Dweba (2), Suleiman Hartzenberg, Leolin Zas, Neethling Fouche. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2).

Emirates Lions 15 (10) – Tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Franco Marais.

Hollywoodbets Sharks hold out Vodacom Bulls in Durban humdinger

The Hollywoodbets Sharks held on with everything they had in their Vodacom URC encounter against the Vodacom Bulls in Durban on Saturday to edge the Pretoria side 20-17 in a humdinger of a clash at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.

Springbok flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse opened the scoring for the Durbanites in the sixth minute with a penalty goal, and his brother Jaden Hendrikse added their first try 12 minutes later to hand the hosts a 10-0 lead.

The Vodacom Bulls fought back with intent with Cobus Wiese and Harold Vorster scoring back-to-back tries within four minutes and the successful conversions handed them a 14-10 lead.

Had it not been for mistakes at crucial moments before the break, the visitors could have added two more tries, but these errors combined with the effective Hollywoodbets Sharks’ defence denied them.

The second half was particularly hard-fought, but a penalty try for the Hollywoodbets Sharks, after the Vodacom Bulls infringed over the goal line – which saw them lose Sebastian de Klerk to the sin bin for 10 minutes – levelled the scores at 17-17 with 28 minutes to play.

Jordan Hendrikse eventually scored the winning points of the game with a 69^th minute penalty, which nudged the hosts into a three-point lead with 10 minutes to play, and they held on for dear life on defence as the Vodacom Bulls tried hard to breach the defence before the final whistle sounded.

Scorers:

Hollywoodbets Sharks 20 (14) – Tries: Jaden Hendrikse, Penalty try. Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse. Penalty goals: Jordan Hendrikse (2).

Vodacom Bulls 17 (10) – Tries: Cobus Wiese, Harold Vorster. Conversions: Johan Goosen (2). Penalty goal: Goosen.