mens
United-Rugby-Championship
Edinburgh Rugby remain top of the table after making it four wins from four to equal their best start to a league season in 11 years.
They ran in five tries in the win over 10Bets Lions 31-10 at the Hive Stadium, with scrum-half Hector Patterson – who has just signed a contract extension – crossing twice in a man-of-the-match performance.
Head coach Sean Everitt said: “It’s great to be able to build momentum early in the competition. Momentum is always a good thing.
“There is a long way to go, we know that.
“I am happy that we got a result, and in these conditions, a bonus point.
United Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
Well
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
In total
1
4
4
0
0
19
2
4
3
0
1
18
3
4
3
1
0
16
4
4
3
1
0
16
5
4
3
1
0
15
6
4
2
2
0
13
7
4
2
2
0
11
8
4
2
2
0
10
9
4
1
2
1
10
10
4
2
2
0
9
11
4
2
2
0
9
12
4
1
2
1
9
13
4
0
2
2
9
14
4
1
3
0
8
15
4
0
3
1
6
16
4
0
4
0
2
“The boys ran the game well and the passes stuck. I just thought they showed courage with the ball in hand.
“Then, defensively, to concede one try against a dangerous Lions team shows the effort the boys put in.”
Everitt added: “There’s a good atmosphere at the moment and obviously a win brings that.
“We’ve been on the other side where we haven’t won every week or lost three or four in a row, and that’s tough.
“So we’ll enjoy it while it lasts.”
Glasgow The Warriors retained second place after securing a dramatic 24-20 victory over Benetton Rugby in Travis.
They trailed 17-0 early in the second half, then 20-17 in the rest of the game.
But two minutes from time, substitute lock Jare Oguntibeju forced his way through to secure victory and the bonus point from four tries.
Vodacom Bulls are third after making maximum catches in a 34-26 win against Ulster Rugby at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
It finished with four tries each, with Bulls winger Marcell Coetzee and Ulster winger Chay Mullins crossing twice each time.
In the end, it was Springboks star Handre Pollard’s spot-kick that proved the difference as he hit five successful shots on goal, while his colleague Curwin Bosch added a last-minute penalty to deny the visitors a second lost bonus point.
DHL Stormers are in fourth place after having the best game of the weekend – a 52-40 win over Scarlets in Cape Town, where no less than 14 tries were scored.
Trailing 33-14 at the break, the Welsh visitors pulled it back to 40-40 on 14 minutes after center Joe Roberts scored a hat-trick.
But a pair of late touchdowns from replacement flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed saw the Stormers walk away with the spoils, leaving the Scarlets in six tries to settle for one lost bonus point.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks lie fifth after also coming on strong in the latter stages, scoring three tries in the final quarter to secure a 36-21 bonus point win over Cardiff Rugby at the Arms Park.
It was a significant scalp for the visitors from Durban as Cardiff have not lost at home since last December.
Leinster’s win against Munster led them to the sixth, while Ospreys have jumped to seventh with their own derby triumph against Dragons RFC.
Completing the top eight are Connacht Rugby who ran in eight tries during the 48-27 win Zebras Parma in Galway, with whore Dave Heffernan scoring a double.
In all, URC’s eight games over the weekend yielded a total of 456 points at an average of 57 points per game, while there were 69 tries scored at an average of 8.6 per game.