Round Nine marked the conclusion of derby season, with snow in Belfast and sunshine in Cape Town – only in the United Rugby Championship.
At the halfway point of the season, it is the Stormers who lead the way after prevailing in a titanic battle against the Bulls in front of a record crowd.
Glasgow Warriors made it three from three over the festive period to move into second place, while Ulster leapfrogged Munster into third with an impressive victory in front of a bumper home crowd.
Elsewhere, Leinster completed a hat-trick of derby victories to move back into contention, and the Lions broke into the top eight with a dramatic late winner in Durban.
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Round Nine recap
The biggest URC attendance of the season saw the table-topping Stormers make it eight out of eight in the league as they edged a titanic tussle with the Bulls 13-8 on another weekend of derbies.
They left it late in front of a Cape Town capacity crowd of 53,862, but once again found a way with replacement prop Ntuthuko Mchunu claiming the match-winning score off a lineout drive 90 seconds from time.
That makes it ten out of ten in all competitions for the Stormers, giving Director of Rugby John Dobson further reason to celebrate just days after signing a four-year contract extension.
Giving his verdict on the sold-out showdown with the Bulls, Dobson said: “It was a tough derby.
“What was amazing was the contest everywhere. That’s probably what is making South African rugby so great at the moment, why we win World Cups, that we are so used to this game – scrum, lineout, maul, breakdown, massive contests. It’s just really good for South African rugby.
“You could hear the thuds in the coaching box, which is insulated. It was crazy stuff.
“It was a desperate Bulls team, a good Bulls team. Look how many Springboks were in their pack. So, it’s a good win.”
Providing the view from the visiting camp, Bulls skipper Ruan Nortje said: “Both teams were in it the full 80 minutes and, although there wasn’t a lot of running rugby, I think it was an exciting game.
“All credit to the Stormers, for finishing in the 78th minute. That’s why they are top of the log. When they get the opportunities, they finish. We had our opportunities to win the game and just couldn’t execute.”
It was a sixth straight defeat for the Bulls in all competitions and they are down in 11th in the URC table.
But second row Nortje remains positive, saying: “There’s a lot of belief in this team. We were in this position a few years ago, so I know we will get ourselves out of it.”
It’s now Glasgow Warriors leading the chase behind the Stormers, with Franco Smith’s team having jumped up two places to second thanks to a 47-10 bonus point victory over Zebre Parma in Scotstoun.
- For the second game in a row, there was a brace of tries for in-form wing Jamie Dobie, while flyhalf Duncan Weir marked his final appearance for the club before moving into an Academy coaching role by touching down in the dying minutes.
Ulster are up to third having leapfrogged over Munster by beating them 28-3 in front of a bumper Belfast crowd on Friday night, with try-scoring No 8 Bryn Ward named Player of the Match.
That’s now six wins out of eight for them in the league, while they have a game in hand on all the teams towards the top of the table apart from the Stormers.
Skipper Iain Henderson said: “As I’ve been spouting for the last six months, we’ve seen the progress behind closed doors and it’s great to see it coming out in matches like this.
“The young lads coming through are showing such promise and the quality of our training sessions has just been getting better and better and the way the coaches have been coaching us. We are seeing that all transferring onto the pitch now. It’s exciting to see it finally coming out.
“When times are tough, it is so difficult to drag yourself back and get the feeling good, so we are just thriving in this environment. There is a good buzz about the place. It’s a good craic, which is positive.
“I really hope the Irish coaching staff have a look at these young lads and see how they fit into an exciting Ireland squad going forward.”
Reflecting on the full house at a snowy, bitterly cold Affidea Stadium, second row Henderson said: “We love the fact that we had a sell out and we really fed off that.
“As bad a night as it was with the weather, you could see the guys wanting to still try and play, wanting to put on that spectacle to bring exciting rugby and an exciting night.
“We know we’ve been guilty in the past of waiting for the fans to pick us up, so we said we were really going to try our best to lift the roof and give what we want to give to them.”
- Cardiff have dropped down to fourth in the wake of losing 22-33 to the Ospreys, with Leinster now just a point behind them in fifth after racking up the maximum in beating Connacht 52-17 with two tries apiece from threequarters Charlie Tector and Tommy O’Brien.
- There was a dramatic ending to the weekend’s other South African derby as the Lions secured a last-gasp 23-22 victory over the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Durban with replacement scrum-half Hassiem Pead claiming the match-winning try in the 81st minute.
The Lions had led 15-0 early on, but were then overhauled amid a 20 minute red card for flanker Ruan Venter before snatching the spoils at the death to rise to seventh.
Their captain Francke Horn said: “What an unbelievable game that was!
“We had 20 minutes with 14 men and kept them out. There were then some big moments at the end where we held them up over the line.
“Then to take that last opportunity just shows you what our team stands for and how we will play to the end whistle.”
There was also a nail-biting finish in Treviso where Edinburgh held on in the face of intense late pressure to beat Benetton 15-14.
They went 15-0 up early in the second half when Scotland wing Darcy Graham claimed a long range kick-and-chase try, but the hosts staged a stirring revival to set up a grandstand finish.
- URC media release
