The Stormers are still unbeaten in the URC, while the Bulls bounced back in Ireland and the Lions recorded their first victory of the season in Johannesburg, but the Sharks are still searching for that elusive maiden win and continue to dwell down in the bottom three on the log.
On Friday night, the Bulls had to dig deep to beat a spirited Connacht side in Galway, but they managed to hold on for a 28-27 victory despite being outscored by four tries to three.
On Saturday afternoon, the Lions made the most of their home ground advantage at Ellis Park to defeat the Scarlets by 29-18 in a match that came alive at the end, securing their first win of the new season in the process.
The Sharks could not follow in the footsteps of their Gauteng counterparts as they were made to pay for a slow start against Ulster, ultimately going down by 34-26 against the Irish side in Durban, which has applied further pressure on coach John Plumtree.
Finally, the Stormers were made to work hard for their fourth win on the bounce by Zebre Parma, but they eventually had too much power, beating their Italian hosts by 31-13.
The Capetonians, Munster and Ulster are still the only unbeaten sides left in the competition, with the Stormers in top spot on the log with 19 points, but with a better points’ difference.
The Bulls are now in sixth on the standings on 14 points, the Lions are 11th on six points, and the Sharks are 14th on four points after four rounds.
HOW THE URC LOG LOOKS NOW
SCORERS RECAP
Scorers:
Connacht 27 (7) – Tries: Josh Ioane, Caolin Blade, Sean Naughton, Mack Hanson. Conversions: Josh Ioane (2). Penalty goal: Naughton.
Bulls 28 (12) – Tries: Paul de Wet (2), Willie le Roux. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (2). Penalty goals: Johannes (2). Drop goals: Johannes.
Scorers:
Lions 29 (5) – Tries: Quan Horn, Franco Marais, Morne Brandon (2). Penalty goals: Chris Smith, Gianni Lombard (2).
Scarlets 18 (3) – Tries: Joe Roberts, Penalty try. Penalty goals: Sam Costelow (2).
Scorers:
Sharks 26 (5) – Tries: Siya Kolisi, Makazole Mapimpi, Andre Esterhuizen, Penalty try. Conversions: Siya Masuku, Jordan Hendrikse.
Ulster 34 (20) – Tries: Mike Lowry, Werner Kok, Tom Stewart, Callum Reid. Conversions: Nathan Doak (4). Penalty goals: Doak (2).
Scorers:
Stormers 31 (24) – Tries: Paul de Villiers, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Warrick Gelant, Ruhan Nel. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3).
Zebre Parma 13 (7) – Try: Mirko Belloni. Conversion: Giacomo De Rea. Penalty goals: De Rea (2).
