Rugby
SA coastal sides triumph over the weekend in United Rugby Championship─── ILSE SMALBERGER 10:04 Mon, 22 Dec 2025
South Africa’s coastal sides triumphed in the past weekend’s United Rugby Championships derbies in Cape Town and Durban.
The Stormers kept their top spot on the log in their 34-27 victory over the Lions at the DHL Stadium, while the Sharks scored two tries in the final 10 minutes to beat the Bulls 21-12 at Kings Park. In Cape Town, the Stormers outscored their Gauteng visitors by four tries to three, while both flyhalves, the Stormers’ Jurie Matthee and Chris Smith for the Lions, were on song with all their kicks from the tee.
The Lions were out of the blocks in no time when Ruan Venter crashed over for the first of his two tries from a mistake by Evan Roos at the kick-off, and the visitors held a seven-point lead at the break.
Stormer Jurie Matthee. Photo: Springboks rugby
But the Stormers put in a proper shift after the break, scoring three tries to seal the deal – the first by Griquas stalwart on loan, Dylan Maart. Roos went from villain to hero late in the game when he scored the hosts’ fourth try and won a crucial turnover at the death with the Lions hard on the attack for the equalising try.
In Durban, Springboks Siya Kolisi and Edwill van der Merwe scored in the final 10 minutes of the match to help the Sharks to only their second win of the season. Hakeen Kunene’s intercept try put the first points on the board, but Springbok Handre Pollard ensured the visitors led 9-7 at the break with three first-half penalty goals.
He landed his fourth penalty goal early, midway through the second half, to push the Bulls’ lead out to 12-7, but the Sharks grew in confidence as the game progressed, and when Kolisi crashed over with just under 10 minutes to go, they took a 14-12 lead.
Break over Christmas
Van der Merwe sealed the deal with three minutes to go with a try from a clever kick into the Bulls’ 22 from Jaden Hendrikse.
With a couple of games to go in the seventh round, the Stormers (first), Lions (seventh), and Bulls (eighth) remained in the quarter-final race, while the Sharks moved up to 12th on the log.
The four local sides will enjoy a break over Christmas and will resume their battle for the South African Shield on 3 January, when the Stormers host the Bulls in Cape Town, and the Lions travel to Durban for their clash against the Sharks.
