RUGBY WRAP: All the latest from a bumper rugby weekend

URC R14: Lions down Warriors, Sharks come unstuck against Ulster

The under-fire Lions claimed an impressive 35-24 bonus-point win over Glasgow at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday to end the visitors’ 10-game unbeaten run. Despite finishing the game with 14-men after Ruan Dreyer saw red for a dangerous clearout late on, Cash van Rooyen’s men hung on to claim a valuable victory and cap off a forgettable week for the franchise on a positive note.

In Durban, the Sharks were beaten 24-31 by Ulster in another frustrating afternoon for the men in black and white. Spearheaded by an in-form Duane Vermeulen, the tourists mauled the hosts off the park while some inefficient structures on offense meant the Sharks’ multi-phase attack was blunt; this despite the selection of two playmakers in the backline.

The results see the Joburgers climb to 12th, leapfrogging both Scarlets and Ospreys, while Warriors remain in fourth on 44-points, with fifth-placed Munster (42), the sixth-placed Bulls (43) and the Sharks in seventh (40) all breathing down their neck. Leaders Leinster (66), the Stormers (second, 54-points) and Ulster (third on 49) are the pacesetters.

With Saturday’s two catch-up matches having gone ahead, all teams in the league have now played an equal amount of games (14).

Six Nations R3: Wins for Ireland, England and France

Ireland advanced their Grand Slam cause with a 34-20 defeat of Italy at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday. While the hosts were put away in the end, it was far from a walk in the park for the World No 1s, who have much to build on as they prepare to welcome Wales to Rome in round four. Ireland next tackle Scotland at Murrayfield.

Later in the day, England overcame Wales 20-10 at the Principality. The visitors scored 12-unanswered second-half points to go third on the log; locked on 10-points with Scotland (second) and France. Wales are yet to earn their first points in the tournament and are currently rooted to the bottom.

France outlasted a determined Scotland outfit to claim a 32-21 win at the Stade de France on Sunday. Both sides were reduced to 14-men inside the opening 10-minutes after first Grant Gilchrist, and then Mohamed Haouas was shown their marching orders within five-minute of one another. The Brave Hearts trailed by just four in the final minute, but a Gael Fickou try at the death added some gloss to the scoreline for the French.

Prem R15: Exeter edge Sale, Saffas inspire Tigers to another win

Exeter Chiefs snuck past second-placed Sale Sharks 24-22 at Sandy Park to leave them just one-point shy of the playoff spots. Chiefs currently occupy fifth, one place off Gloucester and level on points with Leicester. The Tigers sit sixth after their 25-22 victory over London Irish (seventh), with the likes of Jasper Wiese, Handre Pollard and Hanro Liebenberg again producing standout showings for the defending champions.

Elsewhere, Bristol (ninth) squeaked past Bath 15-13 at The Rec, runaway leaders Saracens got back to winning ways thanks to a 29-23 result over 10th-placed Newcastle and Saints (third) beat Gloucester (fourth) 41-34 at Franklin’s Gardens.

With just five-points separating fourth from eighth, no side can afford to fall off the pace.

Top 14 R19: Big dogs all pick up wins

Things went largely as expected in the 19^th round of the Top 14, with not many upsets to speak of.

Table-toppers Toulouse (63-points) saw off 12^th-placed Pau 34-10 at the Ernest-Wallon, Stade Francais (second, 55-points) earned a 27-17 win over defending champs Montpellier (10^th) at the Jean-Bouin, with third-placed Lyon and La Rochelle in fourth also collecting victories over Racing (45-11 at the Stade Gerland) and Brive (32-16 at the Stade Deflandre) respectively. Fifth-placed Bayonne beat Castres (41-10) at the Jean-Dauger and sixth-placed Bordeaux triumphed 43-7 over Perpignan at the Chaban-Delmas. Clermont in ninth also bagged a 36-21 win over eighth-placed Toulon at the Marcel Michelin.

A mere six-points separates second from sixth, and much like the Premiership and the URC, there is still plenty to play for as the season heads towards its business end.

SR Pacific R1: Chiefs whack Saders, Drua sneak past Moana Pasifika

The Chiefs got their Super Rugby Pacific campaign underway in the greatest possible fashion by dishing out a 31-10 drubbing to the Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday. The all-conquering Saders are infamous for their slow tournament starts, but even this was a tad extreme as Razor Robertson’s boys copped a proper hiding at the Orangetheory. On Saturday, a late fightback from the Fijian Drua earned them a thrilling 36-34 win over Moana Pacifika at the Mt Smart Stadium.

In other results, the Brumbies beat the Waratahs 31-25 in Sydney, the Blues thumped the Highlanders 60-20 in Dunedin, the Hurricanes bagged a 47-13 result over the Reds in Brisbane and the Western Force got their campaign off on a winning note, seeing off the Rebels 34-27 in Perth.

LA Sevens: Blitzboks struggle, Kiwis claim gold

The Springbok Sevens earned just 10-log points from the latest leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Los Angeles to seriously dent their championship charge. Sandile Ncobo’s men fell 28-7 to Fiji in the quarterfinals before being thumped 45-5 by Samoa in the fifth-place semi-final, with the bossman slamming a lack of effort from his troops.

Meanwhile, New Zealand won their second title of the season after putting Argentina away 22-12 in the final. They top the standings on 107-points with the South Americans in second, level on points (86) with third-placed South Africa while Fiji (84) round out the top four.

The Vancouver leg gets underway this weekend.