After a weekend of pleasure and dismay for the Sharks and Lions in Currie Cup motion, all 4 South African sides will kick off their 2024-25 Vodacom URC this week.
It follows a delayed begin because of the last of rugby’s oldest competitors, the place the Sharks edged the Lions 16-14 after Jordan Hendrikse’s last-gasp 59m penalty objective at Ellis Park secured the Durbanites’ first Currie Cup title since 2018.
The Vodacom Bulls, Lions, Sharks, and DHL Stormers now shift focus to spherical 2 of the fourth version of the URC. The Lions will likely be keen to place final week’s disappointment behind them when the Satisfaction host Ulster in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The Bulls comply with with a conflict towards Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld, whereas the Sharks head to Galway to face Connacht. The Stormers, recent off a 45-26 pre-season win over the Pumas, conclude the weekend towards the Ospreys in Wales.
For the Herd, their 2023-24 URC marketing campaign was a standout because the Pretoria outfit hosted the ultimate, solely to fall brief towards the Glasgow Warriors. Jake White’s prices additionally claimed the South African Defend with a second-place common season end.
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The Lions endured an up-and-down season, ending ninth general after a robust resurgence regardless of early setbacks. The Sharks, nonetheless, struggled, with a dismal begin that noticed John Plumtree’s troops win simply as soon as of their first 11 video games. They rebounded within the Problem Cup, profitable the EPCR event for the primary time, however missed the URC playoffs.
The Stormers, South Africa’s strongest workforce within the first two URC seasons, had a harder time final time period, knocked out within the quarter-finals by Glasgow.
This week’s spherical 2 fixtures carry intriguing rematches. Final season, the Lions earned a dropping bonus level at Ulster, the Bulls fell away to Edinburgh, Connacht narrowly beat the Sharks in Durban, and the Ospreys claimed a historic win over the Stormers in Cape City.
The opening spherical of the 2024-25 URC season noticed tight contests, with Ulster snatching an Eighty fifth-minute win towards Glasgow, the Dragons getting the higher of the Ospreys with a late transformed attempt, whereas Benetton and Scarlets performed to a 20-20 draw.
Munster held off Irish rivals Connacht in a 10-try thriller, Leinster secured a 33-31 win over Edinburgh, and Cardiff’s 22-17 victory towards Zebre Parma was the largest margin of the weekend.
Spherical 1 outcomes:
Ulster 20-19 Glasgow
Benetton 20-20 Scarlets
Munster 35-33 Connacht
Dragons 23-21 Ospreys
Cardiff 22-17 Zebre
Edinburgh 31-33 Leinster
Spherical 2 fixtures:
Friday, 27 September
Glasgow vs Benetton (8:35pm)
Leinster vs Dragons (8:35pm)
Saturday, 28 September
Lions vs Ulster (12:55pm)
Bulls vs Edinburgh (3pm)
Zebre vs Munster (4pm)
Scarlets vs Cardiff (6:15pm)
Connacht vs Sharks (8:35pm)
Ospreys vs Stormers (8:35pm)
Photograph: Christiaan Kotze/Gallo Photos
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