It was a weekend of Super Rugby 1ts and doubles as the DHL Stormers consolidated their place at the Top of the South African Conference, while the Emirates Lions and Cell C Sharks both got one over their Australian opponents.

The weekend started on a false note for the Vodacom Bulls on Friday though, as they came up short by 22 / 16 in their 3rd tour match, in Canberra against the Brumbies.

The Cell C Sharks won their 2nd consecutive match against Aussie opposition when they beat the Melbourne Rebels by 25 / 21 in Durban on Friday evening. It was the KwaZulu-Natalians’ 4th win over the side from Melbourne, who is still winless after 5 seasons of coming to South Africa.

Saturday’s derby in Cape Town between the DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs ended in a rather one-sided 42 / 12 win for the home team as the visitors from Bloemfontein bid farewell to their coach, Naka Drotské, after 8 seasons and 118 matches in charge of the men from Central South Africa.

Only 3 coaches – Frans Ludeke of the Cats and Vodacom Bulls, Ewen McKenzie (Waratahs, Reds) Robbie Deans (Crusaders) coached in more matches than Drotské, who guided the Toyota Cheetahs to a spot in the Top 6, 2 seasons ago.

The final match of the weekend was a real humdinger as the Emirates Lions got their 1st-ever win as a franchise over the defending champion Waratahs, by 27 / 22 in Johannesburg, their 9th victory of the season.

No fewer than 6 players – 2 South Africans and 4 Aussies – scored a brace of tries this weekend. They are Seabelo Senatla (DHL Stormers), Ruan Combrinck (Emirates Lions), Henry Speight (Brumbies), Scott Higginbotham (Rebels), Quade Cooper (Reds) and Lachie Turner (Reds).

Blitzbok star Senatla scored his 1st try at Super Rugby level, as did his DHL Stormers team-mate Vincent Koch and Heimar Williams from the Cell C Sharks.

Brumbies (8) 22 / 16 (6) Vodacom Bulls:

The Vodacom Bulls’ recent struggles in Australasia continued on Friday morning when they lost a tough scrap by 22 / 16 against the Brumbies in Canberra.

It was their 10th consecutive tour defeat and the men from Pretoria will now have to rely on other teams if they are going to qualify for the playoffs for the 8th time since 2005.

Although the Vodacom Bulls led by 6 / 0 after the first quarter, a try for the home team by Jordan Smiler meant the Brumbies were in front by 8 / 6 at the break – a lead they surrendered briefly early in the 2nd half when Handré Pollard slotted his 3rd penalty goal.

But 2 Henry Speight tries in the 1st 20 minutes of the 2nd half gave the home team a comfortable 22 / 9 lead going into the final quarter.

The Vodacom Bulls hit back with a 5-pointer from a lineout drive by Lappies Labuschagne, but the visitors ran out of plans late in the match while the Brumbies’ defence held firm as they cemented their place in the Top 6 with 2 rounds of league action remaining.

Scorers:

Brumbies:

• Tries: Henry Speight (2), Jordan Smiler (1)
• Conversions: Christian Lealiifano (2)
• Penalties: Christian Lealiifano (1)

Vodacom Bulls:

• Tries: Lappies Labuschagne (1)
• Conversions: Handré Pollard (1)
• Penalties: Handré Pollard (3)

Cell C Sharks (10) 25 / 21 (7) Melbourne Rebels:

The Cell C Sharks took the points after beating the Melbourne Rebels by 25 / 21 at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban on Friday night, but the match won’t be remembered for too long.

The Rebels had to play with 14 men for more than 50 minutes after their tighthead prop Laurie Weeks was Red-Carded for punching Jannie du Plessis, who got a Yellow for a lesser infringement in the same incident.

Apart from these cards, the 1st half will only be remembered for S’bura Sithole’s strong burst for the opening try of the match. Unfortunately both sides made far too many unforced errors and the encounter lacked real structure.

The home team added 2 memorable tries early in the 2nd half which all but secured the win for them, but they still had to dig deep in the final half hour.

1st Lwazi Mvovo intercepted shortly after the break and ran 75m to score in the corner before Heimar Williams scored 1 of the tries of the season after a brilliant solo-run of more than 50m, beating a number of Rebels defenders in the process.

The Rebels hit back through Scott Higginbotham’s 2nd try after the Cell C Sharks made a number of defensive errors and the visitors got their 3rd when Bryce Hegharty went over with 5 minutes left, but the home team hung in for their 2nd win in as many weeks over Aussie team.

Scorers:

Cell C Sharks:

• Tries: S’bura Sithole (1), Lwazi Mvovo (1), Heimar Williams (1)
• Conversions: Lionel Cronje (2)
• Penalties: Lionel Cronje (2)

Melbourne Rebels:

• Tries: Scott Higginbotham (2), Bryce Hegharty (1)
• Conversions: Jack Debreczeni (3)

DHL Stormers (23) 42 / 12 (7) Toyota Cheetahs:

The DHL Stormers all but secured the South African Conference title with a 42 / 12 victory over the Toyota Cheetahs at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon.

The Capetonians only need 2 more log points from their last 2 Super Rugby matches to secure their 3rd SA Conference title after they scored 5 tries en route to a comprehensive victory over the team from Central South Africa.

It was only their 2nd try-scoring bonus-point of the season, but it came just at the right time for the DHL Stormers who balanced out their usual solid defensive play with moments of great attack.

Seabelo Senatla scored both his tries in the 1st half, showing great power on both occasions, but unfortunately for Nizaam Carr, playing in his 50th Super Rugby match in the colours of the DHL Stormers, his “try” late in the 1st half was disallowed after the TMO spotted an earlier infringement.

Toyota Cheetahs flank Boom Prinsloo crashed over from a lineout drive in the 1st half and Carel Greeff did the same in the 2nd, but 3 more tries by the home side after the break, by Damian de Allende, Vincent Koch and Sikhumbuzo Notshe, ensured the DHL Stormers got the full-haul of 5 points from this derby.

Scorers:

DHL Stormers:

• Tries: Seabelo Senatla (2), Damian de Allende (1), Vincent Koch (1), Sikhumbuzo Notshe (1)
• Conversions: Demetri Catrakilis (4)
• Penalties: Dewmetri Catrakilis (3)

Toyota Cheetahs:

• Tries: Boom Prinsloo (1), Carel Greeff (1)
• Conversions: Joe Pietersen (1)

Emirates Lions (17) 27 / 22 (10) Waratahs:

The Emirates Lions, sticking to their ball in hand approach, beat the Waratahs for the 1st time ever as a franchise when they won an entertaining Super Rugby match at Emirates Airline Park in Johanneburg by 27 / 22 on Saturday evening.

The home team started like a house on fire when Ruan Combrinck went over for his 1st try in the 6th minute, but the Waratahs fought back to a 10 / 7 lead after 18 minutes courtesy of a try by Stephen Hoiles and a conversion and penalty goal by Bernard Foley.

It was 10 / 10 when Combrinck scored his 2nd try late in the 1st half – the Waratahs were down to 14 men at this stage with Rob Horne in the sin-bin for an illegal tackle – converted by Elton Jantjies who also added an earlier penalty goal, which meant the Emirates Lions held a 17 / 10 lead at the break.

Jantjies added 3 points more shortly after the break, before Jacques Potgieter got the visitors’ 2nd Yellow Card early in the 2nd half for yet another illegal tackle. With the Waratahs down a man yet again, Combrinck put Harold Vorster away for the Emirates Lions’ 3rd try, which saw them take a commanding 27 / 10 lead into the final half hour.

The Waratahs hit back with tries by Adam Ashley-Cooper and Rob Horne during an impressive 10 minutes midway through the 2nd half, but the home team’s defence held firm as they recorded an impressive win over the defending champions from Sydney.

Scorers:

Emirates Lions:

• Tries: Ruan Combrinck (2), Harold Vorster (1)
• Conversions: Elton Jantjies (3)
• Penalties: Elton Jantjies (2)

Waratahs:

• Tries: Stephen Hoiles (1), Adam Ashley-Cooper (1), Rob Horne (1)
• Conversions: Bernard Foley (2)
• Penalties: Bernard Foley (1)

Other Results – Round 16:

• Crusaders 35 / 18 Hurricanes
• Highlanders 36 / 9 Chiefs
• Western Force 10 / 32 Reds