South Africa’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship franchises delivered a weekend to remember, with all four sides recording victories in Round 16. The Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks cemented their playoff places, the DHL Stormers surged into sixth position, and the Emirates Lions kept their slim hopes alive.

The Bulls opened the weekend by beating defending champions Glasgow Warriors 26–19 in Scotland, despite conceding three tries to two. Johan Goosen’s accurate kicking and second-half tries from Johan Grobbelaar and David Kriel secured a crucial win for Jake White’s men, who remain third on the log with 58 points.

On Saturday, the Emirates Lions snapped a five-match losing streak by defeating Connacht 26–7 at Emirates Airline Park. Renzo du Plessis, JC Pretorius and Edwill van der Merwe crossed for tries, keeping the Lions mathematically in the race for the top eight, albeit still six points adrift with two games remaining.

In Cape Town, the DHL Stormers produced a rampant display to thump Benetton 56–5. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu starred with a 26-point haul, including a last-minute try, as the Stormers scored seven tries in a commanding performance. With home games against Dragons and Cardiff ahead, John Dobson’s side are well placed for a quarter-final berth.

The weekend was rounded off with a dramatic comeback by the Hollywoodbets Sharks, who overturned a 19–5 half-time deficit to edge Ulster 22–19 in Belfast. Makazole Mapimpi sparked the revival before Emmanuel Tshituka and Jurenzo Julius levelled matters, with Jordan Hendrikse landing the winning penalty three minutes from time. The Sharks sit fourth on 53 points.

South Africa’s teams will now enjoy a break while the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup semi-finals take centre stage next weekend, before the URC resumes from 9–11 May.
[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]