The Sharks are disappointingly proper on the backside of the factors desk.
With the United Rugby Championship on a two-week break and the competitors on the halfway mark it’s maybe the proper time to recap what has gone down thus far and the place the South African groups stand of their quest to make the playoffs.
All 16 groups have performed 9 video games, with the highest eight going by to the knockout rounds after the round-robin stage.
Right now, due to the thrilling win towards the Lions at Loftus on Saturday, the Bulls paved the way among the many 4 South African groups.
Bulls
Jake White and his males are fourth within the standings, having gained six matches and misplaced three. At the identical stage final season they had been second on the factors desk, and ended up ending sixth total.
This season the Bulls have overwhelmed Scarlets, Zebre, Cardiff, Connacht, Sharks and Lions and misplaced to Ulster, Edinburgh and the Stormers.
Not far behind the Bulls are the winners from the primary season and runners-up final time period, the Stormers.
Stormers
They’re seventh in the meanwhile after a sluggish begin, having gained 5 matches and misplaced 4.
The Stormers have picked up wins towards the Lions, Scarlets, Zebre, Bulls and Sharks and misplaced to Glasgow, Benetton, Munster and Cardiff.
John Dobson’s crew had been third on the identical stage final 12 months, having performed eight video games. They additionally completed third after their 16 video games.
Lions
Further down the log are the Lions, who’re tenth with 4 wins and 5 defeats, although they’ve picked up bonus factors in all these slim losses.
Ivan van Rooyen’s crew have gained towards the Scarlets, Zebre, Dragons and Sharks and misplaced to the Stormers, Edinburgh, Benetton, Ulster and Bulls.
The Lions had been fifth on the halfway mark a season in the past, however they’d additionally solely performed eight video games. They ended up ending ninth.
Sharks
And proper on the backside of the pile and propping up the desk are the Sharks, who’ve surprisingly gained just one match and misplaced eight thus far. A 12 months in the past the Sharks had been tenth, having performed two video games much less, and so they ended their marketing campaign in eighth place.
John Plumtree’s crew’s solely win was towards the Dragons in spherical six, with the defeats coming towards Munster, Leinster, Ospreys, Zebre, Connacht, Bulls, Lions and Stormers.
Leading the way in which
Sitting on the top of the log are Irish side Leinster, as soon as once more, and so they’re adopted by, considerably surprisingly, Benetton from Italy and Glasgow from Scotland.
The subsequent spherical of matches is on 16/17 February and domestically there can be two derbies to maintain rugby followers excited.
The Lions and Bulls will conflict at Ellis Park (3pm on the Saturday) whereas the Sharks will host the Stormers at 5.05pm (additionally on the Saturday).
For all the outcomes thus far and matches to come back click on here.
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