RUGBY WRAP: Sharks claim sole SA URC win; Blitzboks finish second in Sydney and more!

URC R13: Sharks spare SA blushes

The Sharks registered the only SA win of the weekend thanks to a 22-19 win over Edinburgh at the DAM Health Stadium on Saturday. The Durbanites led 14-0 inside the opening quarter before the hosts hit back hard to lead 19-14 at halftime. That was as good as it got for them however, as the Sharks went on to clinch the game in the second half thanks largely to a fine defensive effort.

Friday saw the Bulls beaten 37-28 by Scarlets in Llanelli and defending champs the Stormers concede a 35-5 blowout defeat to Ulster at the Kingspan. The men from Pretoria have now lost five of their last six away matches in all competitions, while the Stormers face a mounting injury list with JJ Kotze, Evan Roos and Jean-Luc du Plessis all sustaining knocks to varying degrees in Belfast.

The Lions travelled to Galway to tackle Connacht on Saturday and copped a 43-24 loss to leave them 13th overall on 24 points. The Stormers continue to lead the way in the SA Shield with 45 points, the Bulls are five points back in second and the are Sharks third with 33, albeit with a game in hand on the Capetonians, whom they face this weekend.

In other results, Munster claimed a 40-30 win at Benetton, Glasgow maintained their impressive form with a 42-28 defeat of Dragons at Rodney Parade, Leinster whacked Cardiff 38-14 in Dublin and Ospreys edged Zebre 28-24 at the Sergio Lanfranchi.

Sydney Sevens: Kiwis whack Blitzboks in Cup final

New Zealand thumped the Springbok Sevens 38-0 in the Sydney Sevens final on Sunday to put themselves nine points ahead of the Blitzboks on the overall HSBC standings. Despite a thrilling performance in their 31-12 victory over Fiji in the semi-finals, Sandile Ngcobo’s men couldn’t get the job done in the decider but remain on course to challenge the Kiwis throughout the remainder of the season.

Fifth-placed Fiji beat France (fourth overall) 29-5 in the Bronze final, while Samoa placed fifth in Sydney and currently sit third overall.

Prem R13: Last-gasp Hougaard try wins it for Sarries over Bears

Bristol Bears came within a point of inflicting a secon defeat of the Premiership campaign on Saracens, but a Francois Hougaard try in the 83rd minute sealed the three-time European champions a 20-19 win at the StoneX. The result leaves Sarries eight points clear of second-placed Sale at the summit of the Premiership standings and looking highly unlikely to be caught.

Elsewhere, Sharks beat Bath 30-27 at the AJ Bell, Saints claimed a 19-18 win over Tigers at Welford Road, Chiefs saw off Gloucester 24-17 at Sandy Park and London Irish smashed Harlequins 42-24 at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Top 14 R16: Toulouse see off defending champs; Stade and La Rochelle both lose out

Table-toppers Toulouse now find themselves eight points clear at the summit of the Top 14 after their 23-9 win over defending champions Montpellier at the Ernest-Wallon on the weekend and the respective defeats suffered by No’s 2 & 3 Stade Francais and La Rochelle. The former was shockingly beaten 31-24 on the road by bottom-placed Perpignan while Ronan O’Gara’s European champions fell 36-39 in a high-scoring thriller at La Defense Arena to Racing 92.

In other results, hosts Lyon beat Clermont Auvergne 34-14, Castres broke a seven-game winless run in all comps after a 23-18 win over Bordeaux at the Pierre Fabre, Bayonne put visiting Brive away 37-9 and Toulon claimed a 27-19 victory over Pau at the Felix Mayol.