The Bulls, Stormers and Sharks all kept their places in the top five with bonus-point wins in round four of the URC, but the Lions dropped out of the top eight after a heavy defeat in Edinburgh.
Round five sees the Stormers and Bulls at home again, hosting Ulster and the Scarlets respectively, while the Lions travel to Glasgow and the Sharks to Munster.
Edinburgh lead the log on 19 points and are the only side to have won all four of their matches. Glasgow are second on 18, ahead of the Bulls and Stormers on 16 points each, with the Bulls third on points difference. The Sharks are fifth on 15, while the Lions are 11th on nine.
JP: Sharks warriors found a way
The SHARKS were desperate for an overseas win in the URC and announced themselves as real playoff contenders with an impressive 36-21 victory over Cardiff at the Arms Park.
Ethan Hooker scored in the third minute and tries from Matt Romao and Jason Jenkins gave them a 17-7 half-time lead. Cardiff hit back with two tries from James Botham, but the Sharks scored three late tries through Thomas du Toit, Ethan Bester and Romao to secure victory.
They now face Munster, who lost 24-18 to Leinster, in Limerick.
The LIONS, still reeling from the death of teammate Hyron Andrews, trailed Edinburgh by just two points at the break, but the hosts scored four second-half tries to win 31-10 at the Hive, with Batho Hlekani scoring the visitors’ only try.
It was the Lions’ second heavy away loss in two matches after the 57-15 defeat to the Bulls in round three.
They now face second-placed Glasgow, who beat Benetton 24-20 in Treviso.
In Pretoria, the BULLS held their nerve to beat Ulster 34-26 and remain third on the log.
Marcell Coetzee scored twice and Elrigh Louw once as they led 21-0, but Ulster fought back to within five points in the 69th minute.
A Curwin Bosch penalty on the full-time hooter sealed the bonus-point win.
Next up are the Scarlets.
IT’S OFFICIAL: Kwagga’s a Bull
The STORMERS needed two late tries from Junior Boks flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed to beat the Scarlets 52-40 in a chaotic clash at Cape Town Stadium after leading 33-14 at half-time.
The Welsh side scored four tries in just over 20 minutes to level the scores at 40-40 in the 65th minute, exposing the Stormers’ defence, but the hosts finished with eight tries to six for their third win in four matches.
Ulster, who are yet to win this season, visit next.
MORE: Stormers count cost of ‘bizarre’ win
There is a neat twist to round five: the Stormers host the team that scored four tries at Loftus, while the Bulls welcome the side that scored six at Cape Town Stadium.
KEO: JP brings back Sharks’ bite
Round 4 results
Cardiff 21 Sharks 36
Connacht 48 Zebre 27
Edinburgh 31 Lions 10
Bulls 34 Ulster 26
Stormers 52 Scarlets 40
Benetton 20 Glasgow 24
Leinster 24 Munster 18
Ospreys 31 Dragons 14
Round 5 fixtures (SA times)
Glasgow Warriors vs Lions (9:45pm)
Connacht vs Leinster (9:45pm)
Stormers vs Ulster (2:45pm)
Bulls vs Scarlets (5pm)
Benetton vs Edinburgh (5pm)
Munster vs Sharks (7:30pm)
Dragons vs Zebre (7:30pm)
Ospreys vs Cardiff (9:45pm)
Photo: Gareth Everett/Gallo Images
The post State of the URC: Sharks bite, Lions bruised appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.