Stormers and Sharks keep SA flag flying in Europe
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The DHL Stormers and Hollywoodbets Sharks kept the South African flag flying in the second round of the Investec Champions Cup this past weekend, as they registered vital victories against Stade Rochelais and Saracens, while the Vodacom Bulls succumbed to a heavy defeat against the Northampton Saints in a respectable weekend for South Africa’s teams.
It was a case of disappointment for the Toyota Cheetahs and Lions in the EPCR Challenge Cup once again, as they both suffered their second defeats in a row.
The in-form DHL Stormers kicked off a jam-packed day of rugby on Saturday on a high note as they registered a 42-21 victory against Stade Rochelais in Gqeberha, and the Hollywoodbets Sharks followed suit with a hard-fought 28-23 victory against Saracens in Durban.
The Vodacom Bulls were unable to counter the Northampton Saints’ effective attack in England on Sunday, and were forced to settle for a 50-5 victory.
The Toyota Cheetahs and Lions were unable to bounce back from their first-round defeats in the EPCR Challenge Cup, as the Free Staters went down 45-22 against Stade Francais in Amsterdam, while the Lions were edged 14-10 by the Newcastle Red Bulls in England, where a late try squashed their hopes of earning their first win of the season in the tournament.
The DHL Stormers’ victory saw them top their Investec Champions Cup pool with nine points, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks remain in fifth place in their pool – five points behind the Glasgow Warriors – and the Vodacom Bulls are also in fifth place in their pool, with only one point in their opening two matches.
In the EPCR Challenge Cup, the Lions and Toyota Cheetahs currently find themselves in fourth and fifth spots on their tables with one and zero points respectively, meaning they will have to bounce back strongly to sneak their way into the playoff stages when the competition resumes in January.
The Vodacom United Rugby Championship, meanwhile, will continue this weekend and on Saturday, 3 January, with two rounds of local derbies.
On 20 December, Vodacom URC log-leaders, the DHL Stormers, host the Lions at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town at 15h30, and the Hollywoodbets Sharks take on the Vodacom Bulls at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban at 18h00.
In the ninth round of the competition, on 3 January 2026, the Hollywoodbets Sharks meet the Lions in Durban, and the DHL Stormers will welcome the Vodacom Bulls to Cape Town in an exciting start to the new year.
Investec Champions Cup:
DHL Stormers outplay Stade Rochelais in Gqeberha
The DHL Stormers set the tone for their 42-21 victory against Stade Rochelais from the outset in their clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, scoring two tries in the opening seven minutes, which they managed to build on for a 16-7 halftime lead, and eventually a rewarding 42-21 win to stretch their unbeaten run this season to eight matches.
The Capetonians broke out of the blocks quickly with Dylan Maart touching down in the second minute and Leolin Zas soon after, and they were denied two possible tries soon after, which could have seen them stretch their lead even more – a move that appeared to give the French visitors momentum as the half progressed.
The visitors scored the first of their three tries in the 25th minute, and the successful conversion left them trailing by only three points, before Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted two vital penalty goals to nudge the hosts into a 16-7 halftime lead.
Andre-Hugo Venter crashed over for the first try after the break, but a subsequent yellow card to Neethling Fouche allowed the Frenchman to score their second try and reduce their deficit to only seven points.
The DHL Stormers, however, took the game by the scruff of the neck to score three more tries by Maart, Warrick Gelant and Marcel Theunissen respectively, while they limited La Rochelle to only one more try in the last quarter, and this saw them walk away with the pleasing result.
Scorers:
DHL Stormers 42 (16) – Tries: Dylan Maart (2), Leolin Zas, Andre-Hugo Venter, Warrick Gelant, Marcel Theunissen; Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3). Penalty goals: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2).
Stade Rochelais 21 (7) – Tries: Quentin Lespiaucq, Nikoloz Sutidze, Nathan Bollengier. Conversions: Diego Jurd (3).
Hollywoodbets Sharks grind out valuable win against Saracens
The Hollywoodbets Sharks got their stint under their interim head coach JP Pietersen off to a strong start on Saturday with an encouraging 28-23 victory against Saracens at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, in which the KwaZulu-Natalians not only had to contend with a spirited visiting team, but also strong wind, a wet field, and at times pouring rain.
It was a hard-fought encounter, but seldom a running spectacle due to the weather conditions, which saw the forwards mainly run the show, and the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ four tries to three rubberstamped how close the spectacle was.
The hosts opened the scoring with a maul try by Springbok captain Siya Kolisi three minutes into the match, but Saracens fought back hard with two tries and a penalty goal in under 20 minutes to snatch a 15-7 lead.
This, however, appeared to ignite a fire in the Hollywoodbets Sharks, who hit back with tries by Bok speedsters Aphelele Fassi and Edwill van der Merwe, while George Whitehead kept the scoreboard ticking with the two additional conversions for a morale-boosting 21-15 halftime lead.
Saracens opened the scoring in the second half with a penalty goal before receiving a yellow card, which the home side pounced on with a try by Grant Williams to stretch their score to 28 points, and despite leaking a third try in the 64thminute, and Nick Hatton receiving a yellow card in the dying stages of the match, the Durbanites did well to shut out a last attempt by the visitors close to their tryline to clinch the 28-23 victory.
Scorers:
Hollywoodbets Sharks 28 (21) – Tries: Siya Kolisi, Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe, Grant Williams. Conversions: George Whitehead (4).
Saracens 23 (15) – Tries: Theo Dan, Sam Spink, Tom Willis. Conversion: Fergus Burke. Penalty goals: Burke (2).
Northampton cruise to victory over Vodacom Bulls in England
The Vodacom Bulls were comprehensively outplayed by 50-5 against the Northampton Saints at the Cinch Stadium @ Franklin's Gardens on Sunday in a largely one-sided encounter in which the home side scored an impressive eight tries and limited the visitors to one to register their second win in the competition.
The first half was competitive as both teams tried hard to make their presence felt on attack, but also made constant errors, which cost them momentum. Despite this, Northampton managed to score two tries to one by the Vodacom Bulls’ Stravino Jacobs, to take a 14-5 lead at the break.
They built on this early after the break with their third try from a smart kick through, which allowed them to continue steadily building a cushion on the scoreboard.
The match took a bad turn for the Vodacom Bulls minutes before the fourth quarter as Alulutho Tshakweni received a yellow card for tripping, which reduced them to 14 men, and it didn’t take long before the Saints added three tries in quick succession to secure their bonus point and stretch their lead to 40-5.
They continued to inflict damage on the Vodacom Bulls’ defence until the final whistle, scoring two more tries, which saw George Hendy secure his hat-trick, thanks to their waves on attack for a rewarding 50-5 victory.
Scorers:
Northampton Saints 50 (14) – Tries: Ollie Sleightholme (2), George Hendy (3), Henry Pollock, Alex Coles, Josh Kemeny. Conversions: Fin Smith (5).
Vodacom Bulls 5 (5) – Try: Stravino Jacobs.
EPCR Challenge Cup:
Strong second half sees Stade Francais topple Toyota Cheetahs
A strong second-half by Stade Francais saw them overturn a 17-14 halftime deficit against the Toyota Cheetahs into a convincing 45-22 victory at NRCA Stadium in Amsterdam on Saturday, in which the French outfit outscored the Free Staters by six tries to three.
The first half was entertaining as both teams showed grit and determination on attack, although the French side laid the foundation for their victory in the first quarter, in which they scored two tries while limiting the hosts to a penalty goal for a 14-3 lead.
The Toyota Cheetahs fought back with intent as Louis van der Westhuizen and Munier Hartzenberg touched down within five minutes of one another before halftime, and Cohen Jasper’s conversions handed them a three-point lead going into the break.
But Stade Francais broke away in the second half, showing their class and experience to score four tries in a row with a penalty goal in between to stretch their lead to 45-17.
The Toyota Cheetahs’ challenge, in turn, petered out in the last 20 minutes, although they managed to score a late try by Jandre Nel, which saw them having to settle for the disappointing defeat.
Scorers:
Toyota Cheetahs 22 (17) – Tries: Louis van der Westhuizen, Munier Hartzenberg, Jandre Nel: Conversions: Cohen Jasper (2). Penalty goal: Jasper.
Stade Francais 45 (14) – Tries: Thibaut Motassi (2), Joe Marchant, Iakopo Mapu, Noah Nene, Juan-Martin Scelzo. Conversions: Louis Foursans-Bourdette (6). Penalty goal: Foursans-Bourdette.
Late Newcastle try dashes Lions’ hopes in thriller
The Lions will have nightmares about their EPCR Challenge Cup match against the Newcastle Red Bulls on Saturday after having their hopes of a victory dashed by a late try two minutes before the final whistle, which saw the English side secure a narrow 14-10 victory at Kingston Park.
The Lions dominated the encounter with a surfeit of possession, but they struggled to put together threatening attacking plays except for a string of passes to the backline, which resulted in few breaches of the opposition defence.
Both sides scored tries in the opening minutes, with Angelo Davids intercepting a pass inside his own half to touch down in the third minute, but Newcastle struck back minutes later with a long-range try to level the scores at seven points apiece.
A penalty goal by the Lions’ Sam Francis in the 19th minute, however, handed them a 10-7 lead, which they managed to cling onto until the 78th minute despite both sides being shown yellow cards in the last 10 minutes of the half.
Unfortunately for the Lions, their limited attack and costly handling errors denied them from capitalising on their superior possession, and they were forced to count the cost of that as the hosts worked tirelessly to score the winning try in the dying minutes to secure their second victory in a row in the competition.
Scorers:
Newcastle Red Bulls 14 (7) – Tries: Alex Hearle, Murray McCallum. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain, Brett Connon.
Lions 10 (10) – Try: Angelo Davids. Conversion: Sam Francis. Penalty goal: Francis.
