Stuart Lancaster says he knew Connacht could 'cause Stormers problems'

The battle for URC play-off positions has been shaken up in a big way with the top three sides going into the weekend failing to pick up a point between them as they all went down to defeat.

League leaders Glasgow Warriors, the second placed DHL Stormers and Ulster Rugby finished up empty handed to leave home quarter-final spots still very much up for grabs, while the Race to the Eight is now down to 11 teams.

The result of the weekend came in Cape Town where Connacht Rugby claimed a 33-24 bonus point victory over the Stormers as they scored three tries in the final quarter to come from 24-14 down.

They are now just a point off the top eight, with head coach Stuart Lancaster fulsome in his praise for his team’s five-try display.

“It was awesome. I am super proud of all the boys,” he said.

“The young lads were amazing and the senior lads were amazing in helping the younger lads believe.

“When you look at the lads we have sat back in Galway, they will be super proud as well. We have got a real good squad building now.

“The first half wasn’t perfect, but we stayed in the fight. The set piece power the Stormers have can’t be underestimated, but we held on and stayed in the fight.

“I always felt if we could get some multi-phase going, we would cause them problems and that’s what happened.

“We worked hard, we believed and we won. It’s a great feeling.”

It’s Round 16 of the URC next weekend and there are in for some crucial contests with no team yet guaranteed a play-off spot.

There will be a compelling top-of-the-table clash in Cape Town on the Saturday afternoon with the second-placed Stormers entertaining league leaders Glasgow.

Just as enthralling will be the meetings between top eight contenders in Limerick and Johannesburg, with Munster (sixth) hosting Ulster (fifth) and the Lions (fourth) taking on Connacht (ninth).

Elsewhere, there’s a big Welsh derby at the Arms Park where Cardiff welcome the Ospreys, while third-placed Leinster travel to Treviso to take on Benetton, with the other fixtures being Scarlets v Bulls, Edinburgh v Sharks and Zebre v Dragons.