The Stormers and Sharks went into their Champions Cup fixtures this weekend with understrength teams, and duly suffered disappointing defeats, while a Springbok-laden Bulls side were humbled by the Bristol Bears.
Saturday started on a grim note in Pretoria, where the Bristol Bears fired more shots than the Bulls to win a high-scoring Champions Cup clash by 61-49 on a sunny and warm afternoon at Loftus Versfeld, all but securing the win in the first 25 minutes when they scored 42 points.
Later on Saturday, the Sharks started well in their clash against the Sale Sharks in Manchester, but in the end the hosts won by 26-10, with the visitors leaving England empty-handed.
Not even the Stormers could add a ray of light to proceedings as a second-string side was humbled 61-10 in round three of the Champions Cup to end the Cape side’s perfect start to the season.
HOW THE CHAMPIONS CUP LOGS NOW LOOKS
RELIEF IN THE CHALLENGE CUP
While there was no joy for the Stormers, Bulls or Sharks, the Lions at least beat Lyon at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, for their first win of the European season, outscoring their visitors from France by five tries to four, for the only South African victory on the day.
The Lions ultimately managed to turn a two-point deficit with minutes left on the clock into a bonus-point 42-33 victory.
The Johannesburg-based side were impressive in the first half as they showed enterprise and determination on attack and supported this with solid defence, which saw them score four tries to two to seal their bonus point before the break.
They added two more tries to three by the opposition in the second half to clinch the victory.
Meanwhile, the EPCR Challenge Cup match between the Cheetahs and Ulster in the Netherlands has been postponed until further notice.
This was after the match day referee, Kevin Bralley, decided that the pitch is unplayable following an inspection before kick-off, which was scheduled for 15:00 (SA time). EPCR will convene its Board Crisis Management Group to consider next steps.
