The Sharks sit top of the URC standings with a perfect 10 points from two games after defeating defending champions Leinster 26-20 at Kings Park, with coach JP Pietersen crediting the returning Springboks' defensive resolve as the decisive factor.

The moment that swung the match came in the 69th minute, with Leinster leading 15-14. Eben Etzebeth collected possession on his own 10-metre line, sold a dummy and produced a burst of pace to breach the Leinster half. He drew defenders, offloaded to Edwill van der Merwe, stayed in support to receive the pass back, and then produced a clinical offload in the tackle to send captain André Esterhuizen over. Van der Merwe had earlier scored an intercept try and was named man of the match for his running and aerial work. Thomas du Toit was dominant at loosehead throughout the scrum, with Ox Nché maintaining that platform after coming on in the second half.

Pietersen admitted he had only one training run with the returning Boks before the game but backed them regardless. "I was nervous, but I chose the Boks because they are elite players," he said. "We saw today that the Boks really wanted to be part of it. It's a World Cup season and they want to show Rassie Erasmus they can start. We needed their defence to get us over the line — in the last 10 minutes you really have to credit our defence because we were under the pump."

The Lions sit third, a point behind the Sharks, after a 35-19 bonus-point win over the Ospreys — their second victory in as many rounds following last weekend's upset of Leinster. The Lions pack controlled the game through the scrum and maul, creating the go-forward their backs needed to run up the score.

The picture was less bright for the Bulls and Stormers, both of whom lost by their own admission. The Bulls went down 26-22 to Munster in Limerick, with coach Johan Ackermann pointing to handling errors and poor decision-making around the kicking game as the root cause. "We lacked possession and territory. We did not help ourselves," he said.

The Stormers lost 17-13 to Edinburgh, losing hooker Andre-Hugo Venter to a friendly-fire concussion before half-time and surrendering 11 lineout throws in difficult wind conditions. Coach John Dobson was blunt: "You can't win a game if your plan is based around the maul and you're giving up possession in the lineout."

Despite those setbacks, all four South African franchises remain in the URC's top 10 after the opening two rounds.