The Stormers, although imperfect, made it four wins from four while their coastal rivals, the Sharks, are still without a win though they refused to make excuses.
This weekend in the United Rugby Championship (URC), fortunes shifted for the Bulls and Lions, while the Stormers and Sharks extended their respective win and winless streaks.
The Stormers made it four wins out of four with a bonus-point 31-13 victory over Zebre in Parma on Saturday. It was their fifth win out of five matches against the Italian side.
It meant they held onto pole position even though Munster secured an emphatic away win over Leinster.
‘Flat’ Stormers push on in URC
Director of rugby John Dobson said he was proud of the Stormers’ defence and set-pieces, especially without several forwards.
However, he said they looked a “bit flat” and overplayed the ball when they needed to be more direct at times.
“How we defended was really good,” Dobson said. “They couldn’t get on top of us – they had to resort to the contestables.”
He said he would take a five-try away win against a “tricky” side like Zebre any day.
“We might say we got lucky with an intercept at the end but we were held up two or three times. We weren’t at our usual clinical best.”
He said they will need to rectify this ahead of playing Benetton in Treviso next week.
Sharks in dire straits
Still, the Capetonians’ fortunes stand in stark contrast to those of the Sharks, who lost their first home game 34-26 to Ulster.
This despite naming 13 Springboks in the starting XV and four more on the bench.
Head coach John Plumtree said he wouldn’t make excuses, though he could, about the result and poor start for the Sharks (14th on the table after four games without a win).
“We know what quality we’ve got in this group and we just have to look in the mirror and come with a different mindset and try and get back in this tournament,” Plumtree said.
The Sharks need a win against Scarlets next week to galvanise a URC comeback.
Lions get first win in URC, Bulls bounce back
The Lions secured their first URC win with a 29-18 victory over Scarlets at Ellis Park, lifting them to 11th on the table with six points.
The Joburg side will feel a boost of confidence, even if it’s against the early-season whipping boys from Wales, having been in the same position before the weekend – three defeats in a row.
They next host an in-form Ulster at Ellis Park after the Irish side beat the Bulls and Sharks already.
Meanwhile, the Bulls bounced back from their Ulster defeat last week, which their president criticised publicly.
Coach Johan Ackermann said he was grateful and relieved to hold onto a 28-27 win over Connacht in Galway as the Bulls held onto sixth place.
He said of an improved defence: “There’s still a lot of work for us to do, but the way the guys put their bodies out there… It was a massive effort.”
Ackermann said the Bulls must do the same against Glasgow next week.
