The Vodacom Bulls thumped Zebre Parma 63-24 in Pretoria, but it was a case of disappointment all around for the other teams as the 14-man DHL Stormers suffered a narrow 38-34 defeat against Ulster in Belfast, the Hollywoodbets Sharks went down 10-7 against Leinster in Durban, and the Emirates Lions were on the receiving end of a heavy 42-0 defeat against the Glasgow Warriors in Scotland.

These results saw the Vodacom Bulls hold onto third place on the table (50 points) – four behind defending champions the Glasgow Warriors and 12 behind Leinster – while the Hollywoodbets Sharks (45 points) remained in fourth place, the DHL Stormers sunk to 10^th-place (35 points) – one behind the eighth placed Edinburgh – and the Emirates slipped a position to 14^th as they remained on 30 points.

With four pool games remaining in the cross-hemisphere showpiece, the Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks will have their sights set firmly on remaining in the top four for possible home quarter-finals, while the DHL Stormers and Emirates Lions are under more pressure to win their remaining games to keep alive their playoff hopes.

Cards cost DHL Stormers dearly against Ulster

A red card to Neethling Fouche for a dangerous tackle in the 45^th minute and yellow card for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu shortly before halftime cost the DHL Stormers dearly against Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast on Friday, as they let a 17-0 lead slip in the opening exchanges of the game and ended settling for a heart-breaking 38-34 defeat.

The visitors came out firing with Evan Roos touching down in the first minute, with Ben Loader adding their second five-pointer five minutes later to shock the hosts after Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted a drop goal to put them on the front foot.

But Ulster fought back with intent, scoring three tries in the remainder of the half – the last of which was when the DHL Stormers were down to 14 men with Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the sin bin – to level the scores at 17-17 going into halftime.

Ulster picked up where they left off when play resumed adding their bonus-point try, but things went downhill for the South Africans soon after as Fouche received his marching orders for a dangerous tackle.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu added his second drop goal soon after, but Ulster took advantage of their numerical advantage to score their fifth try in the 54^th minute.

Despite this, the DHL Stormers kept on fighting and added a crucial try compliments of Willie Engelbrecht and a second drop goal by Feinberg-Mngomezulu, but this was short-lived as the hosts struck again with their sixth try to take a 38-27 lead.

Roos had the last say as he scored the Capetonians’ bonus-point try and in the process earned a brace with six minutes left to play after Ulster received a yellow card, but with the numbers and odds stacked against them, they found themselves settling for the 38-34 defeat.

On a positive note, they were able to secure two bonus points from the match for losing by fewer than seven points and scoring two tries, which kept them well in the race for a playoff spot.

Scorers:

Ulster 38 (17) – Tries: Rob Baloucoune, Andrew Warwick, Jack Murphy, Jacob Stockdale, Zac Ward, Stewart Moore. Conversions: John Cooney (2), Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak.

DHL Stormers 34 (17): Tries: Evan Roos (2), Ben Loader, Willie Engelbrecht. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (4). Drop Goals: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2).

Vodacom Bulls outclass Zebre Parma in Pretoria

The Vodacom Bulls remained on track for a top-four finish in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship after thumping Zebre Parma 63-24 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday thanks to nine tries to only three by the visitors.

The writing was on the wall for the Italians by halftime as the men in blue held a 28-10 lead at the break with a four-try bonus point already in the bag after Sergeal Petersen, Zak Burger, Stravino Jacobs and Jan-Hendrik Wessels crossed the chalk, while they limited the opposition to only one try and a drop goal.

With momentum and confidence on their side the Vodacom Bulls scored another five tries in the second half compliments of Marco van Staden, Marcell Coetzee, Harold Vorster, Petersen and David Kriel despite JF van Heerden receiving a yellow card, while they limited the visitors to only two tries for the rewarding bonus point victory.

The player depth within the Vodacom Bulls ranks certainly shone through, although Zebre Parma who were languishing in second-last place on the table - fought back valiantly in the second stanza.

It was a particularly rewarding day with the boot for Vodacom Bulls flyhalf Keagan Johannes, who slotted seven conversions, which allowed them to keep the scoreboard ticking and take their score to over 60 points.

Scorers:

Vodacom Bulls 63 (28) – Tries: Sergeal Petersen (2), Zak Burger, Stravino Jacobs, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Marco van Staden, Marcell Coetzee, Harold Vorster, David Kriel. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (7), Boeta Chamberlain (2).

Zebre Parma 24 (10) – Tries: Jacopo Trulla, Giovanni Montemauri, Tommaso Di Bartolomeo. Conversions: Montemauri (2), Giacomo Da Re. Drop Goal: Alessandro Fusco.

Hollywoodbets Sharks let themselves down against Leinster

The Hollywoodbets Sharks were their own worst enemy against Leinster in Durban on Saturday night, as they squandered a few possible try-scoring chances, which would have surely won them the Vodacom URC game in challenging conditions where errors stood out like a sore thumb. This eventually saw them suffer a disappointing 10-7 defeat against the log-leaders.

In fact, they could have even tied the game for two bonus points had they opted for a penalty goal as opposed to kicking for touch in the last play of the game.

Fortunately for the KwaZulu-Natalians they still managed to hold onto their fourth spot on the standings, but they will have to deliver the desired results in the last few rounds to remain ahead of the chasing pack for a possible home quarterfinal.

The Hollywoodbets Sharks will rue their domination without scoring in the first 10 minutes when they were just a few metres from the Leinster tryline for most of this period with discipline, handling errors, and being pinned offside costing them despite a surfeit of possession.

Trailing 5-0 at half time, the Hollywoodbets Sharks dominated possession but ultimately paid the price for several handling errors and numerous turnovers.

Leinster scored first late in the first half to enter the sheds by five points up after Jaden Hendrikse was yellow-carded for cynical play. The Irish stretched their lead to 10-0 early in the second half, but Bongi Mbonambi cancelled this out in the 51^st minute to take their deficit to only three points.

Unfortunately for the hosts they had another three possible chances to take the lead, but they were unable to convert them into points, which resulted in them being on the unfavourable end of the scoreboard.

Scorers:

Hollywoodbets Sharks 7 (0) – Try: Bongi Mbonambi. Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse.

Leinster 10 (5) – Tries: Henry McErlean, Scott Penney.

Glasgow outplay Emirates Lions to remain second

The Glasgow Warriors were a force to be reckoned with at the Scotstoun Stadium on Saturday as they outplayed the Emirates Lions 42-0 in a largely one-sided Vodacom URC match, despite the visitors’ best efforts to fight back in the second half.

Glasgow ran riot on attack from the opening exchanges and forced the Emirates Lions to defend for most of the match. Such was the home team’s dominance they scored all six of their tries in the first half for a 42-0 lead, with Jamie Dobie scoring two in succession within 12 minutes.

Although they tried hard, the Johannesburgers’ attempts were just not enough to stop Glasgow’s wave after wave on attack. The visitors tried hard to force their way back into the game in the second stanza, but they were shut out by the home side’s effective defence, while errors cost them at other times.

They also tightened up their defence in the second half to deny Glasgow from adding to their score, but the damage had already been done in the first half, forcing them to settle for the heavy 42-0 defeat.

Scorers:

Glasgow Warriors 42 (42) – Tries: Nathan Macbeth, Jamie Dobie (2), George Horn, Adam Hastings, Grant Stewart. Conversions: Hastings (6).

Emirates Lions 0