We look back on a weekend that saw all four of South Africa’s franchises achieve wins in the URC while there were notable victories for Saracens, Bristol and Gloucester in the Gallagher Premiership.
URC R12: Great success for South Africa
The Hollywoodbets Sharks dug deep to beat Ulster 22-12 at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday and claim just their second URC win this season. After heading into halftime with the scores locked at 7-apiece, an inspired display in the second stanza lifted John Plumtree’s men to a solid result in the end, with Westville Old Boy Ethan Hooker standing out in midfield. The men in black and white now occupy 14th place overall.
In Cape Town, a hat-trick from Suleiman Hartzenberg propelled the Stormers to a routine 43-21 win over Edinburgh. Though last season’s runners-up looked a tad rusty at times, their overall intensity and creativity on attack was too much for the Scottish club to handle and they claimed another comfortable victory to go fifth on the log.
The Lions continue to punch above their weight and comprehensively bettered a very good Connacht outfit 38-14 in Galway to rise to eighth, while the second-placed Bulls put Dragons to the sword in a 31-10 display at Rodney Parade.
Elsewhere, third-placed Glasgow beat Cardiff 17-13 at the Scotstoun, Munster saw off Ospreys 27-17 in Swansea, Scarlets pipped Benetton 16-13 in Llanelli and Leinster eased past Zebre 31-7 in Parma.
Our moment of the weekend? How about this from Ox Nche:
Scrum porn from Ox Nche 😍😍
— Old Downbadians RFC (@OldDownbadians) March 24, 2024
OT pic.twitter.com/Y5z8qcGbyK
Gallagher Prem R13: Statement wins in Premiership weekend
Inspired by an inspired Owen Farrell, Saracens underlined their title ambitions with an emphatic 52-7 annihilation of Harlequins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The former England captain, representing his beloved club for the 250th time, was at his very best as Mark McCall’s side ran in eight tries to go second and send out a timely reminder that they remain well in contention for a second straight championship.
Leaders Northampton unexpectedly fell 52-21 at Ashton Gate to Bristol Bears, while Gloucester supplied another shock when they knocked Leicester over 27-25 at the Kingsholm. Meanwhile, Exeter got the better of winless Newcastle 25-16 at Sandy Park and Bath beat Sale 42-24 at The Rec.
