The DHL Stormers gained a valuable home win on April 27 when they defeated the visiting Rebels 34-18 in their Vodacom Super Rugby clash in Cape Town, while a last-minute penalty enabled the Highlanders to snatch a 29-28 win over the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday evening.
Earlier on Saturday, the Emirates Lions suffered a surprise 27-22 loss to the Reds in Brisbane after the Highvelders trailed 24-0 at the interval, while the Cell C Sharks were not in action this weekend.
In the other South African conference match, the Jaguars recorded their first win over a New Zealand side courtesy of a 20-13 win in Auckland over the Blues on Saturday.
The Emirates Lions still lead the SA conference table on 31 points from ten matches, while the Jaguars moved into the second spot (20 points) thanks to their historic success in Auckland. The Vodacom Bulls are third on point difference (20 points) while the Cape side improved their league tally to 18, the same as the Cell C Sharks.
The DHL Stormers clearly enjoy playing at home and on Friday they registered their fourth home victory by comfortably beating the Rebels following their 17-6 lead at the break. Damian de Allende, Dillyn Leyds and JJ Engelbrecht (2) were the DHL Stormers’ try scorers, while young fly-half Damian Willemse kicked four conversions and two penalties.
The Emirates Lions made a bad start in Brisbane and found themselves in deep trouble at halftime trailing the Reds by 24-0. The Johannesburg side rallied back in the second half, which saw Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx and substitute Marnus Schoeman each scoring two tries as they gathered 22 unanswered points.
The Highlanders celebrated wildly after fly-half, Lima Sopoaga, succeeded with his last-minute penalty to hand the Vodacom Bulls a heart-breaking loss at Loftus. The successful kick enabled the Kiwi side to grab a dramatic 29-28 win after trailing 14-10 at half-time.
The Jaguars clinched their third success in a row on their current Australasian tour and a deserved win over the Blues in ugly weather conditions in Auckland. They outscored the Kiwi side by three tries to two and maintained their upward movement on the SA conference log.
Other Round 11 results:
April 27
Hurricanes 43, Sunwolves 15
April 28
Blues 13, Jaguars 20
Brumbies 8, Crusaders 21
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