It will be a Merry Christmas for the Stormers and Sharks after Vodacom URC derby wins this past weekend.
After the Stormers consolidated their position at the top of the standings and the Sharks continued their renaissance under JP Pietersen, the South African clubs can enjoy a weekend off before hostilities resume in early January.
URC round-eight action takes place on Boxing Day and 27 December, but minus the SA sides. The Lions will play their round-eight fixture against the Sharks at Ellis Park on 21 February, while the Stormers will travel to Loftus to take on the Vodacom Bulls on 14 March.
The South African teams are next back in action in round nine, which takes place 1-3 January when the Sharks host the Lions and the Bulls travel to Cape Town.
DOBBO: Good teams win when not playing well
The STORMERS have added to their burgeoning reputation as they remain the only unbeaten team in the competition after seeing off the Lions 34-27 in Cape Town in round seven.
It wasn’t perfect but the Cape side managed to secure victory despite the untimely injury withdrawals of flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and centre Ruhan Nel, and the continued absence of utility back Damian Willemse.
The Stormers top the URC log with 32 points from seven games, three ahead of second-placed Munster. It is still early days in the SA Shield, but with the Bulls next, John Dobson’s men will look to cement their dominance over local rivals.
The opposite principle seems to apply to the LIONS, who are playing well but ending up on the losing side.
Away to Newcastle in the EPCR Challenge Cup, the Joburg-based side were dominant in almost all facets of the game and led until two minutes from the end.
It was more of the same against the Stormers in Cape Town. The Lions started strongly, led 10-0 after the opening quarter and 17-10 at half-time, only to fall short again.
It doesn’t get any easier after the short festive season break when they travel to Durban to face a resurgent Sharks.
Despite the loss to the Stormers, the Lions are still the second-best placed South African team in seventh position with 17 points.
READ: Cash hails Lions’ fight after Cape Town thriller
The BULLS sit two points and one place behind their Jukskei neighbours after another dispiriting loss which left coach Johan Ackermann frustrated.
The Bulls gave as good as they got in a frenzied Shark Tank before going under in the last 10 minutes as the hosts ran out 21-12 victors.
READ: Ackers rues Bulls’ missed chances
The Pretoria-based side just can’t catch a break at the moment and Ackermann is right when he says the bounce of the ball seems to go against his team at all the key moments.
That aside, the Bulls have lost five in a row across competitions and desperately need a reversal of fortune.
Two weeks ago the SHARKS were in turbulent waters. The turnaround under interim coach JP Pietersen has been impressive, with an Investec Champions Cup win over Saracens followed by victory over the Bulls to right a listing ship.
Pietersen has got the Sharks hungry and firing again but the men from Durban still have a lot of catching up to do – 12th on the log with 12 points – but they are moving in the right direction and will look to keep that momentum going with the visit of the Lions on 3 January.
JP: Sharks bench brought energy and impact
Round 7 results:
Leinster 24 Ulster 20
Cardiff 17 Scarlets 21
Stormers 34 Lions 27
Benetton 21 Zebre 15
Glasgow 24 Edinburgh 12
Sharks 21 Bulls 12
Ospreys 10 Munster 26
Dragons 48 Connacht 28
Round 8 fixtures:
Friday, 26 December
Cardiff vs Dragons, 5pm
Scarletts vs Ospreys, 7:30pm
Saturday, 27 December
Zebre vs Benetton, 4:30pm
Edinburgh vs Glasgow, 5pm
Connacht vs Ulster, 7:30pm
Munster vs Leinster, 9:45pm
Saturday, 21 February
Lions vs Sharks, 2pm
Saturday, 14 March
Bulls vs Stormers, 2pm
The post State of the URC: Festive cheer for Stormers, Sharks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.