South Africa’s URC franchises complete round one clean sweep

South Africa’s four URC franchises are off to a flying start.

The Stormers and Bulls travelled for their first-round games, while the Lions and Sharks played at home.

Here’s how the local teams performed in the opening games of the domestic rugby season.

Stormers blow away Connacht in season opener

The Stormers started their URC journey on Friday with a hard-fought win over Connacht in Galway.

Despite dominating the proceedings, the visitors were guilty of missing several scoring chances, which allowed Connacht to make the contest closer than it should have been.

One of the high points of the match was the Stormers scrum, which left the hosts physically reeling.

The match ended 29-15 for the Western Cape franchise, who came away with a bonus-point victory.

The Stormers remain on the road next weekend with a clash against Edinburgh next Friday (2 October).

Lions draw first blood against Leinster

The Lions defeated the defending URC champions in a nail-biting clash in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Leinster looked more enterprising throughout, dominating possession and territory.

However, the Johannesburg franchise remained in the game, with Erich Cronje scoring two tries and Chris Smith scoring 12 points from the kicking tee.

Leinster led 19-17 at half-time, before the Lions roared back to claim a narrow 27-26 win at home.

They will host the Ospreys at Ellis Park next Saturday before beginning their away games, according to the URC website.

Sharks take Ospreys into the deep water

The Sharks showed their growing squad depth with a rousing win over the Ospreys in Durban on Saturday.

It was not always pretty, with several attacking opportunities turned over or squandered.

However, the Durban franchise got the job done 41-24, with captain Nick Hatton opening their tally in the first half.

The Sharks’ young stars were up to the task, with Luan Giliomee scoring two tries and Litelihle Bester securing the bonus point.

The momentum will be welcome, especially with Leinster heading to Durban next Saturday.

Bulls trample Zebre in Italy

The Bulls were slow to start in their win over Zebre in Parma, but eventually found their footing.

The visitors were initially held back by the hosts before a penalty try got them on the board midway through the first half.

It went from bad to worse for Zebre after Mateo Canali was sin-binned for a cynical challenge.

Curwin Bosch was accurate with the boot for the Bulls, who raced to 21-6 at half-time.

That momentum rolled over into a 47-13 final score, with the Pretoria franchise travelling to Munster next Saturday.

WHICH OF SOUTH AFRICA’S URC FRANCHISES IMPRESSED YOU MOST?

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