RUGBY WRAP: All five SA franchises qualify for Champions and Challenge Cup rounds of 16

Champions Cup R4: Stormers win in the Cape, Sharks and Bulls fall on the road

The Stormers recorded a 30-16 win over Clermont Auvergne at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday to secure third place in Pool B as well as a home round of 16 clash with Harlequins. John Dobson’s side trailed 3-6 at the interval but turned up the heat in the second half to come away with a comfortable victory in the end. Their next opponents in the competition will be a ‘Quins outfit that managed to hold off a dogged Sharks team 39-29 at The Stoop in a result that sealed the Durbanite’s third spot in Pool A. Neil Powell’s boys next face Munster in the knockouts, while the Bulls, who succumbed 31-7 to Lyon away from home, travel to Toulouse in the next round.

Elsewhere, Ospreys upset Leicester 27-26 at Welford Road to finish the pool stages with three wins from four, defending champs La Rochelle outclassed Northampton 31-13 at Franklin’s Gardens, Gloucester won 26-17 in Bordeaux, Leinster saw off Racing 92 36-10 at the Aviva, Exeter thumped Castres 40-3 at Sandy Park, Ulster beat Sale 22-11 in Belfast, hosts Montpellier and London Irish played out a 21-all draw, Toulouse recorded a pool phase clean sweep thanks to a 20-16 result at home over Munster and Edinburgh inflicted Saracens with their first defeat of the competition thanks to a 20-14 win in the Scottish capital.

Challenge Cup R4: Final round wins for Lions, Cheetahs

The Lions beat Dragons 30-25 at Rodney Parade to cement third spot in Pool B and set up a round of 16 encounter with Racing 92 in Johannesburg.  The Pride had Jordan Hendrikse in large part to thank after the 21-year-old sunk 20 points from the boot in a match that nearly saw the hosts claw their way back after trailing by 22 points at the break. Meanwhile, Siya Masuku sunk a last-gasp penalty to bag the Cheetahs a 9-6 win over Pau at the Stadio Lanfranchi and book them a daunting trip to the Stade Mayol for a showdown with Toulon in the knockouts.

In other results, hosts Toulon eased past Zebre 14-5, Bristol swatted Perpignan aside 33-19 at Ashton Gate, Glasgow and Bath drew 19-all at the Scotstoun, Scarlets claimed a 20-7 win in Bayonne, Brive bagged their first victory in a 37-14 result at the Stade Amédée-Domenech, Benetton edged Stade Francais 35-32 in Treviso and Newcastle beat Connacht 35-21 at Kingston Park.

Hamilton Sevens: Blitzboks finish seventh as Argentina take gold

The Springbok Sevens placed seventh at the Hamilton Sevens on the weekend and have now slipped to fourth on the overall World Rugby Sevens Series standings. Sandile Ncobo’s men were knocked out of the Cup quarterfinals by France, who claimed a 22-17 win, before going on to lose 14-21 to Ireland in the fifth-place semi-final.

Argentina pipped New Zealand 14-12 in the Cup final to go third overall, with the Kiwis leading the way, followed by USA. The next leg kicks off in Sydney this weekend.