Ivan van Rooyen's Lions delivered arguably the result of the URC season, dismantling league leaders Glasgow 54-12 at Ellis Park — a stunning reversal of the 42-0 hiding they suffered at Scotstoun last season. Eight tries, a fifth consecutive win, and a break into the top four confirms the Lions are the form team in South African rugby right now. Keohane is generous in spreading credit across the squad, but the broader point is structural: the Lions are scoring more points than anyone in the league and are genuinely threatening at home.
The Stormers' loss to Connacht is harder to stomach given the manner of it. Feinberg-Mngomezulu produced a moment of individual brilliance to give the Stormers what looked like a decisive cushion, but individual errors — a botched kickoff receive and defensive hesitation on a chip kick — gifted Connacht 14 easy points in the final quarter. Keohane argues the 21-point handicap was always fiction; the quality gap was never that wide. With Glasgow visiting Cape Town this weekend, the Stormers' recent vulnerability in tight matches is a real concern — they've lost four of their last seven despite sitting second on the log.