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United Rugby Championship: Stormers stretch home winning streak to 18 after defeating the Sharks while Lions stun Bulls

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The Stormers survived a late Sharks rally to seal their 18th successive home victory in the United Rugby Championship (URC) on Saturday.

John Dobson’s charges raced into a 19-6 half-time lead. The Sharks rallied late in the second half, scoring two quick tries, with the Stormers going down to 13 men after yellow cards to Sazi Sandi and Seabelo Senatla.

The win means that the Stormers strengthen their hold on second spot in the URC standings.

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However, the Sharks left themselves with too much to do as they fell short, conceding a late penalty inside their 22 as the Stormers emerged 29-23 victors.

Sacha Mngomezulu, a late inclusion in the team after an injury to Dan du Plessis, opened the scoring for the hosts in the 15th minute.

BJ Dixon intercepted a poor pass to give the Stormers a 12-6 lead after two earlier penalties from Curwin Bosch before Clayton Blommetjies strolled through some poor defending by the Sharks as the Stormers posted a 19-6 half-time lead.

Blommetjies scored his second try after the break, with Manie Libbok slotting his third conversion as the Stormers led 26-6 and looked to be on their way to a comprehensive victory.

However, the Sharks’ comeback kicked off before the hour mark as Yaw Penxe came off the bench to score in the 57th minute. Rohan Janse van Rensburg continued his fine form to put the Sharks within touching distance after 65 minutes.

Two yellow cards in quick succession meant the Stormers would finish the match with 13 men, with Grant Williams closing the gap to just three points in the last eight minutes.

Williams brilliantly sidestepped Senatla and rounded the winger to cruise over the whitewash. The Stormers’ winger stuck his leg out to trip the scrum-half and was yellow-carded for his actions. 

The Stormers managed to see the game out after a botched clearance from Bosch and their Cape-based ability to pressurise the Sharks in their own 22. A late penalty gave Libbok the simplest of shots at goal, which he took to secure an 18th successive home win for the URC champions.

Lions stun Bulls in Pretoria

Elsewhere in South Africa, the Lions produced a shock 29-25 derby victory over the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship.

Sanele Nohamba scored 24 points – a try, five penalties and two conversions – as the Lions, who started the weekend in 12th spot, upset the sixth-placed Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

The Lions led 20-3 after 25 minutes with tries from wing Edwill van der Merwe and scrum-half Nohamba.

The Bulls fought back as Wandisile Simelane (2), Sbu Nkosi and Johan Grobbelaar crossed, with Morne Steyn kicking five points, to give them a 25-23 lead with 18 minutes remaining.

But Nohamba landed two penalties in the final quarter, and fierce defence on their own line saw them hold out for victory.

The win ended a run of 10 successive defeats for the Lions against South African teams.

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