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Grandmaster Springbok shines, Munster wins all SA championships: PlanetRugby

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The United Rugby Championship (URC) returned to action this weekend with all teams taking part in Round 13.

After a thrilling round, Simon Thomas looks back at the weekend's action, breaking down all the results and picking out quotes from the weekend, players of the round and more.

South Africa all wins

All four South African franchises achieved wins, with Emirates Lions defeating Connacht 38-14 on bonus points away, perhaps due to the results of this round.

Few teams emerge from the Galway Sports Ground with maximum points and the Lions won despite being on the back foot for more than an hour after Asenathy Ntlabakaniye was shown a red card in the 16th minute. Earned a point.

The visitors from Johannesburg made light of the numerical disadvantage and fought their way through the second half after leading 12-7 at half-time.

No. 8 Franke Horne scored twice in the win, flanker JC Pretorius also crossed for the man of the match award, and flyhalf Jordan Hendrickse had four shots on goal. .

This was the Lions' first win in Ireland and lifted them up to eighth place and into the play-off zone.

There was also plenty of reason to celebrate as the Sharks lifted themselves from the bottom of the table with their second URC win of the season.

The people of Durban welcomed back stars Eben Ezebeth, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi as they defeated Ulster 22-12 in Durban. Hooker Bongi Mbonambi, another World Cup winner, scored one of the three tries, while forward Vincent Koch, also a boxer, scored a long goal. -The long-awaited side debut.

In Cape Town, the Stormers scored seven tries in a 43-21 bonus point victory over Edinburgh Rugby. I will explain this interesting matchup in detail later.

In the end, the Bulls defeated Dragons RFC 31-10 at Rodney Parade, capping off a hugely successful weekend for the Rainbow Nation. Substitute hooker Johan Grobbelaar scored a last-minute goal to earn him a vital four-try bonus.

The result moves Jake White's Bulls into second place in the table, with only Leinster Rugby ahead of them. Predict who you will play next.

Leinster were pushed hard by Parma's Zebre Rugby in the first half, trailing by just seven points at half-time, but held firm in the second half and won 31-7 with winger Rob Russell scoring a double try.

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Scarlets pulled out a dramatic victory in the final stages.

Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel felt a mixture of relief and joy after a last-gasp 16-13 victory over Benetton Rugby.

The match looked to be the deciding goal in the 84th minute when substitute South African hooker Edouan Swart fired a huge lineout drive into the right corner, but the drama did not end there. It took a lengthy TMO review before referee Chris Buzby finally awarded the try.

The celebrations that followed showed just how much this result meant to the Scarlets. This win was the Scarlets' third in 16 games in all competitions this season, and their first in the URC since the beginning of December.

Coach Peel said: “I'm happy for the players because they've lost that way and they've put in a lot of effort. It was huge for us to get the win at the end.'' '' he said.

“I thought it was a given. We put a lot of pressure on as the game went on. We created and were bold with the ball when we needed to.”

Peel added: “With six league games left, there's still plenty of rugby to be played and plenty of points to be won. We can still build some momentum towards the end of the season.

“For us, it's about climbing the league as much as we can. We also want us to play with a little bit of effort, and at times we did.”

clinical champion

Dubbing it their biggest game of the season, defending champions Munster deservedly deserved a trip to Swansea with a 27-17 bonus point win.

It was a weird old game. The Ospreys were far better in terms of ground (59 per cent) and possession (62 per cent), but they came away empty-handed, while the visitors made the most of it.

Munster winger Sean O'Brien was named player of the match after scoring two long-range tries from interceptions and scoring opportunistically which ultimately proved the difference between the two play-off contenders. .

“This is a big win for us,” he said.

“We've been saying all week that this is the biggest game of the season. It's really nice to come back after a few weeks off and get a win like this.”

Captain Alex Kenderen added: The league games have been very close lately, so I'm glad we were able to get five points. ”

Ospreys coach Toby Booth expressed his thoughts: they feel pain.

“The primary emotion is frustration, but that's part of this team's journey.

“When you play against the best teams, it's very important to take care of the ball in important moments and we played against the champions.

“You have to seize the moment because there aren't that many chances. You have to be clinical. They were, we weren't.”

The Ospreys' night was summed up in the final moments. Winger Alex Cuthbert secured his second try of the night, costing him two bonus points, but was pulled up with a hamstring strain.

It was all the more painful for the Wales international, who had just returned from a year off due to injury.

“I'm really shocked for him,” Booth said. “It would have been two points and in a very crowded, tight league, that would be huge.

“I thought we deserved something from this game.”

'See what you see' – Dragons manager demands answers to multiple referee decisions

In Friday night's other game, Glasgow overcame a 13-0 half-time deficit to beat Cardiff Rugby 17-13 in a wet and windy Scotstown.

“It was difficult because of the weather conditions. It was terrible, it was scary out there,” said coach Franco Smith.

“But I have to give credit to Cardiff. They came out to play. They played hard at the breakdown and defended really well. I was made to pay for it in parts.

“They're a good team. Nobody should underestimate them. We knew they were going to be tough and competitive.”

The first half was played in wind and rain, but Glasgow quickly erased Cardiff's lead after the restart. They played a game of territory and relied on their big ball carriers to lead them to victory.

“We had to be a little more realistic,” Smith said.

“It was important for us to create an attacking base further down the pitch. If we can win, that's fine, but we need to play better.”

Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt said: “It's almost a bittersweet game because we had a chance to win. We were forced into touch twice five meters in front of the opponent's line and twice we were stopped over the line.

“But we're the first team this season to pick up a point away from Glasgow. Leinster are here, the Stormers are here too. This is one of the toughest places in the league so we've come here a lot. It's all credit to the players that we were able to get something out of it.”

This was nine bonus points for Cardiff and shows how close they have been this season.

weekend games

Stormers 43-21 Edinburgh Rugby

The match that produced the most points (64), most tries (10) and the biggest crowd (23,281) of the weekend. Furthermore, a potential candidate for the Stormers' try this season has also emerged.

It happened just nine minutes later, as the ball slipped through a number of hands during a flurry of offloads before fly-half Manny Livbok slotted in a pinpoint cross-kick, which was deflected by winger Suleiman Hartzenberg. I gathered them together and scored a goal out of bounds.

It was the first of a hat-trick of tries for the 20-year-old Hartzenberg, who also crossed for two times from fellow winger Leolin Szas and also scored from No8 Evan Roos.

Edinburgh also contributed to the game, scoring three tries, but the home side were too hot to handle.

Stormers full-back Damien Willemse, who was named Player of the Match, said: There are a lot of positives to take from this match. It was really fun.

“Right now it's all about building towards a tough end to the season. We're in the final stages of the URC and every game and every point counts.”

John Dobson added:

“What's frustrating is how many tries we're missing out on, but I'd rather score a try than not score a try.''

Damian Willemse leads as Stormers cruise past Edinburgh, Scarlets secure final win over Benetton

Player of the Week – Willie Le Roux

The two-time Rugby World Cup winner is now 34 years old and shows no signs of slowing down. He produced a complete performance from full-back, helping the Bulls earn a 31-10 bonus point victory over the Dragons in Newport.

A superb long pass from the veteran outside back to Kurt-Lee Arendse gave the winger the opening try.

Then flanker Mpilo Gumede fired in a perfectly placed cross-kick before going for a picture-book goal. Those were the highlights, but there was class in everything playwright Le Roux did.

As one poster on social media put it, he “read the game like a grandmaster.”

He was suitably humble after winning the Player of the Match award himself.

“Credit to the boys. This is a team sport and we couldn't have done it without them all,” he said.

“Coming from Pretoria where it's 35 degrees and playing here at 5 degrees, the difference is 30 degrees. It's definitely a bit tough.

“The Dragons played really well so I give them credit. They made it very tough for us.

“But we stuck to what we know and luckily we were able to get that last try to get an incredibly important bonus point. Really tough It was a tough game, so I'm glad we were able to finish it.”

Bongi Mbonambi shines as Sharks end horrific losing streak

weekend quotes

Sharks manager John Plumtree said after their 22-12 win over Ulster, ending a five-game losing streak at URC. I asked the players to make a big effort. We know we're going to have a talented team, especially if we can get all the players available, but it also takes a lot of effort.

“Ulster are a tough team and have a never-give-up attitude, so it was good to see them overcome that.”

What happens next?

There is no doubt about the game in Round 13.

Next Friday night will be a showdown in Dublin between leaders Leinster and second place Bulls.

It has all the makings of an absolute Huddinger.

Glasgow are just one point behind the Bulls in third place. They head to Llanelli to take on the Scarlets, who were buoyed by their dramatic win over Benetton.

Elsewhere, the Sharks will aim for their first back-to-back league wins while entertaining Edinburgh. Ulster continue their trip to South Africa to take on the Stormers in Cape Town, while Benetton host Connacht.

The Ospreys need to beat the red-hot Lions at Swansea to keep their hopes of making the play-offs alive. Cardiff are on the road again, traveling to Limerick to take on Munster.

Finally, not only will the top two take on each other, but the bottom two will also welcome the Dragons and Zebre to Rodney Parade.





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