Week five of the URC provided all the spills: Upsets, interceptions and drop goals.
Three of the four South African teams competing – Stormers, Sharks and Lions – came out victorious, concluding a solid string of results for Mzansi clubs.
Final results
23 Llanelli Scarlets vs Bulls 22
9 Zebre vs Lions 10
28 Sharks vs Glasgow Warriors 24
34 Stormers vs Munster 19
Last year’s URC finalists, Bulls, were the only side to walk away empty-handed, losing by a point following an impressive start to the game as Canan Moodie opened the scoring in the first minute in what was looking to be another dominant display by the Pretoria outfit.
While the Lions edged out the Italian side of Zebre in harsh conditions, the Sharks provided the upset of the weekend by beating the reigning champions of the Glasgow Warriors, and Siya Kolisi scored on his return to the side.
Do or die for the Stormers
Stormers were bottom of the log heading into their crunch match against Munster, making it a must-win game.
Following an early interception try by Suleiman Hartzenberg, running the entire pitch length, the Ireland side took control as Irish scrum-half Conor Murray began dictating play.
However, against the run of play 33rd-minute, Marcel Theunissen’s try ensured the hosts were up 14-12 at half-time.
It was an electric second half, and ultimately, Damien Willemense’s drop goal in the dying minutes made sure Munster couldn’t come back before another interception try after the horn put the final nail in the coffin.
The Cape Town side were without lead protagonist Salmaan Moerat but were reunited with Willemense, who was formidable throughout.
Stormers coach John Dobson was over the moon, saying, “The feeling is pure relief, this was a really tough week.
“For me, the record against Munster wasn’t a massive thing. If we had another loss, it could’ve done more damage”, Dobson continued.
“Last year, we felt that pressure after the 0-4 tour. There was a knife to our throat for the whole season. If we had lost tonight, we really would’ve been on the dust road. We have another one to do next week, then I think we will be in a really good spot.
“I don’t think either team was brilliant. Munster are a really good team and a much tougher team than we sometimes realise. I don’t think we were compelling. There were some obvious things, we had the top lineout before tonight, but we lost five or six. We gave away too many penalties in the middle of the field to give Munster easy entries into our 22.
“Where I think we were absolutely magnificent was defensively. It’s a really good attacking team. They needed us to give away penalties to get any entries. So I thought this was a very good defensive effort. We were a team fighting for a win.”
Who do you think will win the URC?
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