The Cell C Sharks scored an impressive bonus point victory in Bloemfontein as the 3 other South African Vodacom Super Rugby sides in action in Round 5 faltered.
The Emirates Lions could not emulate their win from last weekend as they came up against a Crusaders side hitting their straps in Christchurch on Saturday morning, with the Cantabrians running out comfortable winners (34 / 6).
On a sunny Cape Town afternoon, the DHL Stormers’ impressive 4-match winning run came to a sudden end as they were beaten by 28 / 19 by the Chiefs, who outscored their hosts by 3 tries to 1. The home team dropped from 1st to 3rd on the Combined Log.
In the final match of the weekend, the Cell C Sharks ended a mini-slump with a 27 / 10 victory over the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, which saw the team from Durban move into the Top 6 on the Combined Log.
It was the Durbanites’ 1st try-scoring bonus point away from home in a local derby in almost 3 years.
The Vodacom Bulls had a BYE this weekend while there were yet again more away victories (4r) than home wins (3).
Crusaders (13) 34 / 6 (3) Emirates Lions:
The Crusaders were back to their best as they beat the Emirates Lions by 34 / 6 in Christchurch on Saturday morning.
The 7-time champions laid the foundation upfront, where their play in the set-pieces was simply too good for the visitors.
But although the scoreline suggests an easy win for the Crusaders, the Emirates Lions deserve a lot of credit for always putting up a fight. With 30 minutes to go the score was 13 / 6 but the visitors again struggled to convert opportunities into points.
The Emirates Lions also seemed to rely too much on their attacking approach, while the Crusaders were tactically superior.
With Julian Redelinghuys in the sin-bin for repeated infringements at the scrum, the Crusaders scored 14 unanswered points, which effectively put an end to the team from Johannesburg’s charge.
Scorers:
Crusaders:
- Tries: Andy Ellis (1), Kieran Read (1), Kieron Fonotia (1), Penalty Try (1)
- Conversions: Dan Carter (4)
- Penalty Goals: Dan Carter (2)
Emirates Lions:
- Penalty Goals: Elton Jantjies (2)
DHL Stormers (16) 19 / 28 (13) Chiefs:
A superb 2nd half performance by the Chiefs meant the DHL Stormers’ 4-match winning streak came to an end at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors from Waikato won 28 / 19, outscoring their hosts by 3 tries to 1 for their 1st victory in Cape Town since 2009.
The DHL Stormers had a much stronger start than the Chiefs, with the home team’s scrum exerting massive pressure on their visitors for a 2nd successive week.
Kobus van Wyk crossed for a superb try in the 19th minute and soon thereafter the Capetonians were in control at 13 / 3, but from there on in things seemed to unravel for the home team as the Chiefs found their rhythm.
The 2-time champions from Hamilton scored 2 tries after the break and used the width of the field well as they cruised to their 7th win out of 11 matches in South Africa since 2010.
Scorers:
DHL Stormers:
- Tries: Kobus van Wyk (1)
- Conversions: Kurt Coleman (1)
- Penalty Goals: Kurt Coleman (3), Demetri Catrakilis (1)
Chiefs:
- Tries: Aaron Cruden (1), James Lowe (1), Sam Cane (1)
- Conversions: Aaron Cruden (2)
- Penalty Goals: Aaron Cruden (3)
Toyota Cheetahs (3) 10 / 27 (22) Cell C Sharks:
Springbok flanker Marcell Coetzee scored 2 tries from lineout drives to help the Cell C Sharks to a good win by 27 / 10 over the Toyota Cheetahs at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon.
Coetzee was joined on the list of try-scorers by Francois Steyn and Jack Wilson as the Cell C Sharks recorded their 2nd bonus-point victory of the season. It was the Cell C Sharks’ 1st try-scoring bonus point away from home in a derby match since beating the Toyota Cheetahs by 34 / 20 on 19 May 2012.
The KwaZulu-Natalians were especially impressive in the 1st half and carded 3 of their 4 tries during this time. They were made to work hard for their 4th try, by Wilson, who could only cross with less than 10 minutes left in the match.
Francois Venter scored a late try for the Toyota Cheetahs, whose next 4 games are tough encounters Down Under, following 2 consecutive home defeats.
Scorers:
Toyota Cheetahs:
- Tries: Francois Venter (1)
- Conversions: Francois Brummer (1)
- Penalty Goals: Willie du Plessis (1)
Cell C Sharks:
- Tries: Francois Steyn (1), Marcell Coetzee (2), Jack Wilson (1)
- Conversions: Patrick Lambie (2)
- Penalty Goals: Patrick Lambie (1)
Other results – Round 5:
Hurricanes 30 / 23 Blues
Western Force 17 / 21 Melbourne Rebels
Highlanders 26 / 19 Waratahs
Reds 0 / 29 Brumbies