Emirates Lions win SA Conference again – Vodacom Super Rugby Round 19 Review | 15.co.za | | Rugby News, Live Scores, Results, Fixtures

Emirates Lions win SA Conference again – Vodacom Super Rugby Round 19 Review

Jul 15 • General News, Super Rugby, Super Rugby News • 2034 Views • Comments Off on Emirates Lions win SA Conference again – Vodacom Super Rugby Round 19 Review

Cell C Sharks down Jaguares to advance to playoffs
Highvelders to host Jaguares in quarter-finals

The Emirates Lions overturned a 12-point deficit to defeat the Vodacom Bulls 38-12 in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon and clinch the South African Conference for the third successive year, while also finishing second in the overall standings to secure a home quarter-final next week against the Jaguares.

A few hours later, the Cell C Sharks also secured their place in the knockout phase by beating the Jaguares 20-10 in their Vodacom Super Rugby Round 19 fixture in Durban. The KwaZulu-Natalians grabbed the eighth spot on the overall log and as a result they will now play against log leaders, the Crusaders, next weekend in Christchurch.

In the two other conferences, the Crusaders finished as runaway winners in New Zealand, while the Waratahs clinched Australian honours despite losing to the Brumbies on Saturday, a result which opened the door for the Emirates Lions to finish second overall.

The Vodacom Bulls made an encouraging start and quickly raced into a 12-0 lead against their Gauteng neighbours. Tries by Manie Libbok (flyhalf) and Jesse Kriel (centre) handed the Pretoria outfit the early advantage. The Highvelders, however, kept their composure and scored 19 unanswered points to lead 19-12 at the break.

Ruan Combrinck (wing), Malcolm Marx (hooker) and the returning Courtnall Skosan (wing) each dotted down before the break for the home side. The Emirates Lions dominated the second half, which resulted in a penalty try and two more tries, for Combrinck and Aphiwe Dyantyi (replacement wing).

In the last round-robin fixture of the competition, the Cell C Sharks knew they had to win against the Jaguares to advance to the playoffs, after the Rebels lost 43-37 earlier in the day against the Highlanders in Dunedin. The Durbanites downed the Argentineans by 20-10 in wet conditions to snatch the last playoff spot and secure a trip to Christchurch.

Lively hooker Akker van der Merwe was again one of the standout players for the team from Durban. Van der Merwe and Kobus van Wyk (wing) were the try scorers for the Cell C Sharks, while Robert du Preez (flyhalf) added the rest of the points with the boot.

So, after 19 rounds of thrilling action, the Emirates Lions finished top of the SA standings with 46 points, followed by the Jaguares (38), Cell C Sharks (36), DHL Stormers (29) and the Vodacom Bulls (29).

Next weekend’s quarter-finals (home side first):

Friday, 20 July:

09h35: Hurricanes v Chiefs – Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Saturday, 21 July

09h35: Crusaders vs Cell C Sharks – AMI Stadium, Christchurch

12h05: Waratahs v Highlanders – Allianz Stadium, Sydney

15h05: Emirates Lions vs Jaguares – Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

Results and scorers from Round 19:

Emirates Lions 38 (19), Vodacom Bulls 12 (12)

Emirates Lions – Tries: Ruan Combrinck (2), Malcolm Marx, Courtnall Skosan, Penalty Try, Aphiwe Dyantyi. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (3), Andries Coetzee.

Vodacom Bulls – Tries: Manie Libbok, Jesse Kriel. Conversion: Libbok.

Cell C Sharks 20 (13), Jaguares 10 (3)

Cell C Sharks – Tries: Akker van der Merwe, Kobus van Wyk. Conversions: Robert du Preez (2). Penalty goals: Robert du Preez (2).

Jaguares – Try: Sebastian Cancelliere. Conversion: Joaquin Diaz Bonilla. Penalty goal: Diaz Bonilla.

Other Round 19 results:

Friday, 13 July:

Chiefs 28, Hurricanes 24

Reds 48, Sunwolves 27

Saturday, 14 July:

Highlanders 43, Rebels 37

Crusaders 54, Blues 17

Waratahs 31, Brumbies 40

Vodacom Super Rugby final standings:

South African Conference

Pos	Teams	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	PTS
1	Emirates Lions	16	9	0	7	519	435	84	77	55	46
2	Jaguares	16	9	0	7	409	418	-9	51	55	38
3	Cell C Sharks	16	7	1	8	437	442	-5	49	57	36
4	DHL Stormers	16	6	0	10	390	423	-33	46	56	29
5	Vodacom Bulls	16	6	0	10	441	502	-61	59	66	29

New Zealand Conference

Pos	Teams	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	PTS
1	Crusaders	16	14	0	2	542	295	247	77	39	63
2	Hurricanes	16	11	0	5	474	343	131	66	43	51
3	Chiefs	16	11	0	5	463	368	95	60	48	49
4	Highlanders	16	10	0	6	437	445	-8	59	57	44
5	Blues	16	4	0	12	378	509	-131	50	66	22

Australian Conference

Pos	Teams	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	PTS
1	Waratahs	16	9	1	6	557	445	112	74	59	44
2	Rebels	16	7	0	9	440	461	-21	57	60	36
3	Brumbies	16	7	0	9	393	422	-29	56	52	34
4	Reds	16	6	0	10	389	501	-112	49	66	28
5	Sunwolves	16	3	0	13	404	664	-260	48	99	14