Courtnall Skosaan scores against the rebels
Courtnall Skosaan scores against the rebels

The Emirates Lions maintained their winning streak with a comprehensive 47-10 victory over the Rebels in Melbourne on Saturday morning (SA time), while the Cell C Sharks continued with their quest for a place in the Vodacom Super Rugby playoffs by outplaying the Western Force 37-12 in their Durban encounter.

Despite an improved performance and a hard-fought lead with just five minutes remaining on the clock, the Toyota Cheetahs had to witness how the Highlanders snatched a last-gasp 45-41 victory from them in Bloemfontein. The Highlanders ran in three tries at the end for one of the competition’s most dramatic fightback wins.

Meanwhile, the Crusaders marched on with their unbeaten record still intact following their 62-24 triumph over the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld. It was the home team’s biggest defeat at Loftus while the Crusaders managed to win there for the first time since 2008.

The DHL Stormers were the first team in action this weekend, however, they returned home on the back of Friday’s 41-22 defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington.

In Saturday’s late and lively evening fixture played in Buenos Aires, the Jaguares had to fight hard for their come-from-behind 46-39 win over the gritty Sunwolves of Japan.  In doing so, the Argentine side managed to halt a four-match losing sequence thanks to their successful efforts that saw them wiped out a 12 points deficit in the last 14 minutes.

The Southern Kings side had a rest weekend.

The Joburg side have won nine of their ten matches to date and are the leading SA side in the competition on 42 points. The team from Durban is second in this conference with 32 points from seven wins in their ten matches.

Victory over the Sunwolves left the Jaguares with a slim chance of making the playoffs as they trail Robert du Preez’s team by eight points with five games to play.

Robbie Fleck’s outfit heads the Africa Conference 1 table on 26 points from six wins in ten matches. The Crusaders are leading the NZ conference on 46 points while the Brumbies (18 points from nine matches) are the top Australian side.

 

Vodacom Bulls 24, Crusaders 62

Scorers:

Vodacom Bulls – Try: Jesse Kriel, Jamba Ulengo, Jan Serfontein; Conversions: Francois Brummer (3); Penalty: Tian Schoeman.

Crusaders – Tries: Pete Samu, Tim Bateman, Scott Barrett, Jack Goodhue (2), Seta Tamanivalu, David Havilli, Richie Mo’anga, Andrew Makalio, Mitchell Hunt; Conversion: Richie Mo’anga (5); Mitchell Hunt (1).

 

Cell C Sharks 37, Force 12

Scorers:

Cell C Sharks 37 – Tries: Jeremy Ward, Jean-Luc du Preez, Curwin Bosch, Lukhanyo Am; Conversions: Curwin Bosch (3), Pat Lambie; Penalties: Bosch (3).

Force 12 – Tries: James Verity-Amm, Marcel Brache; Conversion: Ian Prior.

 

Toyota Cheetahs 41, Highlanders 45

Scorers

Toyota Cheetahs 41 – tries: Tian Meyer (2), Sergeal Petersen, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Oupa Mohoje, Ox Nche; Conversions: Fred Zeilinga (4); Penalty: Zeilinga.

Highlanders 45 – tries: Marty Banks, Rob Thompson, Waisake Naholo (2), Matt Faddes, Tevita Lee; Conversions: Banks (6); Penalty: Banks.


Melbourne Rebels 10, Emirates Lions 47

Scorers:

Melbourne Rebels 10Try: Tom English; Conversion: Reece Hodge; Penalty: Hodge.

Emirates Lions 47Tries: Kwagga Smith, Ross Cronje, Courtnall Skosan, Sylvian Mahuza, Penalty Try, Anthony Volmink, Warren Whiteley; Conversions: Elton Jantjies (5).


Hurricanes 41, DHL Stormers 22

Scorers:
Hurricanes 41 – Tries: Corey Jane, Jordi Barrett, Julian Savea, Ardi Savea, Ngani Laumape (2), Beauden Barrett; Conversions: Jordie Barrett (3).
DHL Stormers 22 – Try: Ramone Samuels; Conversion: Robert du Preez; Penalties: SP Marais (4), Robert du Preez.

 

Other Round 11 results:

Saturday, 6 May

Chiefs 46, Reds 17

Waratahs 33, Blues 40

Jaguares 46, Sunwolves 39

Weekend Off: Southern Kings

 

Here are the Updated logs after Round 11:

Africa Conference 1

Pos Teams P W D L PF PA PD TF TA PTS
1 DHL Stormers 10 6 0 4 317 310 7 40 44 26
2 Vodacom Bulls 9 3 0 6 202 268 -66 22 34 14
3 Toyota Cheetahs 10 2 0 8 254 373 -119 28 48 11
4 Sunwolves 10 1 0 9 221 419 -198 27 58 7

Africa Conference 2

Pos Teams P W D L PF PA PD TF TA PTS
1 Emirates Lions 10 9 0 1 351 221 130 48 22 42
2 Cell C Sharks 10 7 1 2 273 204 69 24 23 32
3 Jaguares 10 5 0 5 281 244 37 33 28 24
4 Southern Kings 9 3 0 6 254 284 -30 33 37 15

Australian Conference

Pos Teams P W D L PF PA PD TF TA PTS
1 Brumbies 9 3 0 6 194 194 0 25 24 18
2 Waratahs 10 3 0 7 249 329 -80 32 43 14
3 Reds 10 2 0 8 204 326 -122 29 42 11
4 Force 9 2 0 7 168 250 -82 19 33 9
5 Rebels 9 1 1 7 116 354 -238 10 48 7

New Zealand Conference

Pos Teams P W D L PF PA PD TF TA PTS
1 Crusaders 10 10 0 1 405 195 210 61 23 46
2 Chiefs 10 9 0 1 302 190 112 38 19 42
3 Hurricanes 9 8 0 1 410 174 236 63 20 38
4 Highlanders 10 7 0 3 310 222 88 37 29 32
5 Blues 10 5 0 5 282 236 46 35 29 26

Source: SA Rugby Communications