Super Saturday for SA teams in URC
The SA teams in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship delivered on their desire to return to the field with a bang as all four registered victories on Saturday.
As a result, three of them — the Bulls, Stormers and Lions — are in the top eight on the log after 12 rounds, while the Sharks finally emerged from the foot of the table.
Making the results even more remarkable was that Lions and Bulls secured vital away wins in Galway and Newport respectively, which will not only boost their confidence going into their next round on the road against the Ospreys and Leinster but also enhance their playoff ambitions.
The Sharks were the first team to give a taste of what the SA sides had in stall by defeating Ulster 22-12 in Durban in what marked only their second victory in the competition.
The Stormers then made their presence felt with 43-21 victory against Edinburgh in Cape Town, which maintained their unbeaten run at home this season.
The Lions, in turn, outplayed Connacht 38-14 to become the first Vodacom URC team from SA to win in Galway, and the Bulls made it a full house of victories as they registered a comprehensive 31-10 victory against the Dragons in Newport.
These results saw the Bulls retain second place on the table (45 points) behind Leinster (49 points ), with the Stormers in fifth place (35) and the Lions in place (34), while the Sharks hopped up into 14th place (14 points).
With six rounds of pool matches remaining and only 12 points separating the second-placed Bulls and 10thplaced Benetton, the competition looks set for a gripping business end.