{"id":45531,"date":"2025-12-21T15:54:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T15:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=45531"},"modified":"2025-12-21T15:54:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T15:54:42","slug":"updated-urc-standings-after-sharks-stormers-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2025\/12\/21\/updated-urc-standings-after-sharks-stormers-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Updated URC standings after Sharks, Stormers win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>With big crowds enjoying the South African summer weather at the two local United Rugby Championship (URC)derbies in Cape Town and Durban, the Stormers and Sharks were too good for their Gauteng visitors on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>The Stormers retained top spot on the URC log with a full house of points in their 34-27 victory over the Lions at the DHL Stadium, where the visitors gained a valuable losing bonus point in a highly entertaining clash.<\/p>\n<p>The Sharks scored two tries in the final 10 minutes for a deserved 21-12 victory over the Bulls at Kings Park, where the hosts won only their second clash of the competition this season.<\/p>\n<p>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 12<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0on the URC log.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-the-latest-urc-log-looks-as-stormers-sharks-come-up-trumps\">HOW THE LATEST URC LOG LOOKS AS STORMERS, SHARKS COME UP TRUMPS<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2424697\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Updated-URC-standings-after-Sharks-Stormers-win.jpeg?resize=640%2C361&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Updated-URC-standings-after-Sharks-Stormers-win.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-768x433.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-750x423.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 750w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-480x270.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-960x541.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-640x361.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-255x144.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 255w\"\/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"258\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2424698\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766332479_710_Updated-URC-standings-after-Sharks-Stormers-win.jpeg?resize=640%2C258&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766332479_710_Updated-URC-standings-after-Sharks-Stormers-win.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-2-768x309.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-2-750x302.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 750w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-2-960x386.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-2-640x258.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/URC-log-2-255x103.jpeg.optimal.jpeg 255w\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-winning-reactions\">Winning reactions<\/h3>\n<p>The Stormers stretched their unbeaten URC run to seven matches with the latest victory, although there were some mixed feelings from coach John Dobson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re still unbeaten. If you\u2019d told me earlier in the season we\u2019d be in this position, I\u2019d have taken it, he said. \u201cThe character of this team keeps bailing us out \u2013 and that\u2019s something to be proud of.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were under huge pressure early on and I never expected them to get so many yards so easily. Physically they were on top of us for a large portion of that game and our carrying in the first half wasn\u2019t good enough. To my mind, it was a poor performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA sign of a good team is that they can win even when they\u2019re not playing well,\u201d Dobson added. \u201cThere\u2019s something in this group. It\u2019s not a squad full of big names \u2013 it\u2019s a bunch of guys willing to work for each other, do the ugly things and the unseen work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Sharks coach JP Pietersen praised his replacements\u00a0and the team\u2019s fighting spirit at Kings Park.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a lot going through my mind in that last 20 minutes \u2013 I can\u2019t really recall everything,\u201d Pietersen said. \u201cBut I have to give massive credit to Jaden (Hendrikse). I think he made four or five big moments in the game that really changed it for us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what you want from your bench \u2013 energy and impact. When those guys come on and lift the tempo, it makes a massive difference, and Jaden did exactly that today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt felt like a Test match out there,\u201d he added. \u201cThe noise, the energy \u2013 that means a lot to the players, especially the guys who\u2019ve been here a long time and the younger ones experiencing it for the first time. That kind of support stays with you, and it\u2019s something we can build on.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Updated #URC #standings #Sharks #Stormers #win<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With big crowds enjoying the South African summer weather at the two local United Rugby Championship (URC)derbies in Cape Town&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45531"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45533,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45531\/revisions\/45533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}