All four of the South African franchises claimed substantial bonus-point wins this past weekend to bolster their respective United Rugby Championship playoff hopes.
For the first time this season, the South African contingent has managed a clean sweep of victories in a single round of the URC.
The Vodacom Bulls set the tone with an emphatic 40-7 win against Cardiff in Pretoria on Friday.
While a home victory was widely predicted across the betting markets, the margin – as well as the quality of the Bulls' defence – came as a surprise. Cardiff started the game at Loftus Versfeld with a +22 handicap, but in the end, they never got close.
The glut of points and tries continued on Saturday, with the Fidelity Securedrive Lions extending their winning streak to three matches, via a commanding 54-17 performance against Edinburgh.
The wet weather in Durban did little to douse the fire of the Sharks, who went on to claim a 45-0 victory over Munster. Centurion Makazole Mapimpi dotted down twice for the hosts.
On Sunday, the Stormers overcame a brave Dragons side, with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezilu scoring two of the hosts' tries in a 29-21 victory.
The Welsh team were in the contest at half-time, with the hosts leading 14-7. At that stage, bettors who took a 11.00 punt on the Dragons to win may have felt they were in business.
The Stormers took control thereafter, to clinch the try-scoring bonus-point and the result.
The Stormers finished the round in second place on the URC leaderboard, due to Glasgow Warriors' 38-17 win against Leinster. Franco Smith's team remains on track to finish at the top of the table.
Ulster are currently in third, while Leinster have slipped down to fourth.
The Lions and Bulls (seventh and eighth place respectively) have work to do if they're going to secure their playoff places, while the Sharks (11th) remain in a do-or-die situation.
The URC continues this coming weekend, with the Sharks hosting Cardiff in Durban on Friday night.
The Bulls will battle Munster in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon, before the Lions tackle the Dragons in Johannesburg, and the Stormers face Edinburgh in Cape Town.
Stay updated on every tactical shift and live price movement as the playoff race intensifies. Visit SuperSportBet to explore the full range of URC match odds and special markets.
