THE Cell C Sharks produced a sparkling performance to clinch a morale-boosting 32-15 win over the Hurricanes in Durban on Saturday, May 7. They delivered one of their best displays of the season to outscore the Canes by four tries to two and also to rejuvenate their campaign.
Unfortunately the Vodacom Bulls, Toyota Cheetahs and Southern Kings, all finished on the losing side of their fixtures. The DHL Stormers and Emirates Lions, the two leaders in the South African group, both had a bye this weekend.
Thanks to the four log points they collected in Durban, the Cell C Sharks have now narrowed the gap in the Second Africa Conference to just one point between the top-placed Emirates Lions (27 points from nine matches) and themselves (26 points from 10 games).
In Port Elizabeth, the Kings came close to scoring only their second win of the season, but in the end they fell just short despite a gallant effort to lose 34-18 against the Blues on Saturday evening.
The Waratahs defeated the Cheetahs 21-6 in their clash on Saturday morning in Sydney. The Bloemfontein side have won the previous two clashes in Sydney, but the Australians outplayed the visitors in this match.
That defeat means the Free State franchise finished their Australian tour without a win as they also suffered losses to the Rebels and Reds on their road trip.
The Vodacom Bulls were denied a fourth consecutive away win on Friday, May 6, when the Brumbies defeated them 23-6 in Canberra after leading 9-3 at halftime. The Pretoria-side have won their previous three away matches staged in Singapore, Port Elizabeth and Perth respectively, but they could not match a similar performance in Canberra.
Elsewhere, the Crusaders defeated the Reds 38-5 in Christchurch, the Sunwolves came unstuck 40-22 against the visiting Western Force while the Highlanders scored a hard-earned 26-13 win over the in-form Chiefs in Hamilton.
Credit: SARU
