RUGBY WRAP: Bulls, Stormers through to URC last four; Currie Cup upsets and Prem semis set

Bulls and Stormers conquer URC quarter-finals

The Bulls edged the Sharks 30-27 in a thrilling URC semi-final at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday courtesy of a Chris Smith drop-goal after the final hooter. The teams were deadlocked at 13-apiece at halftime but two quick-fire Bulls tries saw them take a 14-point lead. Sean Everitt’s men did well to claw back two of their own to make it 27-all, but Smith’s late three-pointer from right out in front sealed the deal for the hosts. They next travel to Dublin for a daunting semi-final matchup with Leinster.

The Stormers became the second local outfit to make the last four following a convincing 28-17 win over Edinburgh at Cape Town Stadium later in the day. Warrick Gelant again shone for the Capetonians, who outscored their opponents three tries to two to set up a mouthwatering semi-final against Ulster in the Mother City. The men from Belfast had produced a classy showing to dismantle Munster 36-17 in Belfast on Friday.

In the other quarter-final on Saturday, Leinster smashed Glasgow Warriors 76-14 at the RDS after running in 12-tries. Eish.

Currie Cup wins for Griquas, Pumas and Lions

In the penultimate round of Currie Cup action on the weekend, Griquas came back from the dead to see off Western Province 41-43 at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch on Saturday. The hosts had stormed out to a commanding 21-point lead, but a George Whitehead penalty in the 86th-minute rescued the away side, who are now within a whisker of securing playoff rugby. Elsewhere, the Frans Steyn-less Cheetahs were pipped by the Pumas 29-28 in Bloemfontein, while the Sharks lost 32-38 to the Lions in Johannesburg.

With one round to go, the Bulls (first) and Cheetahs (second) have already qualified for the semi-finals, but the third-placed Griquas, Pumas in fourth and Sharks in fifth all still have work to do.

Saints grab last semi-final spot in final round-robin fixtures

Northampton Saints’ 65-26 defeat of Falcons (12th) at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday secured them fourth spot ahead of this weekend’s semi-finals. They’ll have it all to do against a table-topping Leicester Tigers outfit who saw off Wasps 20-10 at Welford Road. Second-placed Saracens, who will host Harlequins in the last four, fell 54-7 to fifth-placed Gloucester at the Kingsholm after naming a second-string team. The defending champions ended their regular season with a 38-47 defeat at Sandy Park against Exeter.

In other results, Sale finished sixth after smacking 10th-placed Bristol 42-19, and Worcester (11th) ensured Bath finished bottom of the pile this season with a 43-27 win at the Sixways.

Weekend Stunners

Roos rules for Stormers

Eighthman Evan Roos produced another blinder during his Stormers side’s 28-17 quarter-final defeat of Edinburgh at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. Check out this barnstorming run.