The Vodacom Bulls leap-frogged the Cell C Sharks at the top of the PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA standings with an impressive victory in Pretoria, while the DHL Stormers broke their competition duck 60km south in Johannesburg during a third-round that delivered its fair share of drama on May 15.
At the break of the match at Loftus Versfeld, the Cell C Sharks were still in it, but they were outdone by a strong second-half performance by the Vodacom Bulls, who scored 31 unanswered points after the break to power them to a 43-9 victory.
The men from Pretoria got a full house of five log points for their efforts and moved three points past the Durbanites at the top of the ladder.
The DHL Stormers’ fortunes were different at Emirates Airline Park, where they scored 10 points late in the match, the last three via an injury-time penalty goal, to break the Emirates Lions’ hearts with a 39-37 win.
Both sides scored five tries apiece and while the men from Joburg looked to be home and dry when Rabz Maxwane (wing) crossed for their last five-pointer to put them eight points ahead with time running out on the clock, the Capetonians simply refused to give up and ended up sneaking the win.
At the halfway mark of the competition, the Vodacom Bulls led with 13-log points, followed by the Cell C Sharks (10), DHL Stormers (7) and Emirates Lions (3).
Next weekend sees a Jukskei Derby in Johannesburg, while the two coastal sides clash in Durban.
