On Saturday, the Lions advanced to the knockout rounds of the Challenge Cup following a commanding 60-10 victory over the Dragons at Ellis Park. The Lions finished fourth in Pool 2 of the Challenge Cup with two wins and two defeats. In the round of 16, the Lions will travel to Scotland to face Edinburgh.

The Bulls, meanwhile, secured a 48-7 win over Stade Français at Loftus Versfeld. However, this was not enough to advance to the next round of the Champions Cup. 

This was the Bulls’ only victory in the Champions Cup, following defeats to Saracens, Northampton Saints, and Castres. As a result, they drop down to the Challenge Cup, where they remain in contention for a title. In the round of 16, they will travel to France to face the French Top 14 side, Aviron Bayonnais.

This try is the pick of the bunch as @LionsRugbyCo dominate the first half at home ??

See if @dragonsrfc can mount a second half comeback ??

— EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) January 18, 2025

The Sharks were also relegated to the Challenge Cup after suffering a 66-12 defeat against Bordeaux in France. The Sharks, who are the defending Challenge Cup champions, were promoted to the Champions Cup this season due to their title-winning campaign last year. 

However, the step-up proved challenging. They finished fifth in Pool 1, with defeats to the defending champions, Toulouse, and Leicester at Welford Road. Their only victory was a 39-21 win against the Exeter Chiefs in Durban.

Following their defeat to Bordeaux on Sunday, Sharks and Springbok captain Siya Kolisi acknowledged the team’s shortcomings, and they have to be able to take the bad with the good. 

‘We deserve to be criticised’

“If we don’t play well like this, of course, we’re going to get criticised by our own people, and we deserve to be criticised,” said Kolisi.

“If you play well, you get credit. If you play badly, you take the criticism as well.

“You can’t make excuses – it’s life. It is what it is.

“Unfortunately, our job is based on results. So if we don’t get the results, we may get criticised. We’re not proud of that performance, but we could have done better as a team.

“If the criticism comes, it is what it is. We’re going to have to make sure that when we get another opportunity to play, we perform better.”

The Sharks will face Lyon in France in the round of 16. Over the weekend, Lyon eliminated the Toyota Cheetahs from the Challenge Cup with a resounding 68-21 victory.

The Stormers, in turn, were eliminated from the Champions Cup with their 31-22 loss to Racing 92 on the weekend. The defeat saw them finishing at the bottom of Pool 4, and as a result, they did not qualify for the Challenge Cup playoffs.

The round of 16 matches will be played on the weekend of April 4–6.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek