A full house of bonus-point wins saw the four South African teams strengthen their push for the Vodacom URC playoffs, writes LINDIZ VAN ZILLA.
While there were no positional changes on the log, the SA sides closed the gap on teams above them.
The Stormers were last out of the block at the weekend when they took on the Dragons on Sunday, but did enough to seal a rare perfect round for South Africa in the URC.
The 29-21 win took the Cape side back into second place on the log on 46 points, behind only the impressive Glasgow Warriors (50), who beat defending champions Leinster.
With Ulster, Cardiff, Munster and Ospreys also slipping up, the Lions, Vodacom Bulls and Sharks all made up significant ground.
Only seven log points separate third-placed Ulster (42 points) and Connacht in ninth (35). But the 12th-placed Sharks (29) still have a lot to do to reach the top eight, with five regular-season rounds remaining.
After this weekend’s round 14 action, the URC breaks for the round of 16 and quarter-finals of the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup.
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The STORMERS were far from perfect against a stubborn Dragons outfit in Cape Town, but got the win which keeps them in the top two.
John Dobson’s men backed up their impressive victory over the Bulls at Loftus, but both he and captain Ruhan Nel acknowledged there is lots to work on before taking on Edinburgh in Cape Town on Saturday night.
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The Lions may have put 50 points past Edinburgh but Dobson expects a much sterner challenge from a side currently lying 13th and desperate to make a late push for the playoffs.
The LIONS blitzed Edinburgh 54-17 at Ellis Park to remain seventh on the standings.
Ivan van Rooyen’s men next welcome the Dragons. Saturday afternoon’s match will see a contest between one of the best attacking sides in the competition in the Lions, against a team with the best defensive record this year.
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The Lions (38 points) have a bit of daylight between themselves and the Bulls and Connacht (both 35), and will be setting their sights on the teams above them in Munster (39), Cardiff (40), Leinster (41) and Ulster (42).
The BULLS were equally impressive in their 40-7 dismantling of Cardiff in Pretoria on Friday night.
But there is no room for error as they are ahead of Connacht (also 35 log points) only on points difference (+54 to +3), while there is a chasing pack made up of the Ospreys and Sharks (both 29) and Benetton (28) to be wary of.
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The Bulls next host sixth-placed Munster (39 points) who will be eager to bounce back from dismal outing in Durban.
The SHARKS put on a show-stopping performance against Munster, led by the wizardry of debutant starlet Luan Giliomee.
The seven-try, 45-0 crushing of the Irish giants was just the tonic JP Pietersen and his men needed as they make a push for the top eight.
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The Sharks, though, will need to be near-perfect from here on in and also hope other results go their way to reach the top eight – they currently sit 12th and six points outside the final playoff spot held by the Bulls.
The Sharks host fifth-placed Cardiff at Kings Park on Friday night.
Round 13 results
Bulls 40 Cardiff 7
Scarlets 36 Zebre 17
Ulster 19 Connacht 26
Lions 54 Edinburgh 17
Sharks 45 Munster 0
Benetton 31 Ospreys 19
Glasgow Warriors 38 Leinster 17
Stormers 29 Dragons 21
Round 14 fixtures (SA times)
Friday, 27 March
Sharks vs Cardiff (7pm)
Leinster vs Scarlets (9:45pm)
Glasgow Warriors vs Benetton (9:45pm)
Saturday, 28 March
Bulls vs Munster (2pm)
Connacht vs Ospreys (4:15pm)
Lions vs Dragons (4:30pm)
Stormers vs Edinburgh (7pm)
Zebre vs Ulster (9:45pm)
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
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