Bulls Beat Lions at Ellis Park As South African Teams Look to Continue Dominating in United Rugby Championship

• The Bulls comprehensively beat the Lions at Ellis Park to start their new United Rugby Championship season off with a win
• South African sides enjoyed great success in last season's United Rugby Championship and will be looking for more of the same
• The Sharks travel to Italy to take on Zebre but have been hit with an injury crisis ahead of the season opener

South Africa's rugby teams will be looking to put in another strong showing as the new season of the United Rugby Championship gets underway.

Last season the Stormers stormed to victory, beating fellow South African side, the Bulls, in the final.

The Bulls have already got their first points on the board as they beat the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday.

As reported by Sport24, last year's losing finalists secured a 31-15 victory, a win that pleased Director of Rugby, Jake White.

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"Getting the away win is a massive bonus for us because that's the trend of the tournament. You have to get some away wins," he said.

The other South African teams in the tournament, the Stormers and the Sharks, will both open their accounts this coming weekend.

The Stormers will play host to Connacht from Ireland, while the Sharks travel to Italy to face Zebre. The Sharks are facing a bit of an injury crisis ahead of the game, though.

IOL reports that Boeta Chamberlain is the team's only fit flyhalf as Curwin Bosch and Lionel Cronje both suffered arm fractures in pre-season training. Both players are expected to miss the first two months of the tournament.

Vincent Tshituka, Mpilo Gumede and Jeandre Labuschagne are also unavailable after each player underwent surgery, while Lukhanyo Am is also out of action after picking up an injury while on Springbok duty.

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DHL Stormers edge hated arch rivals the Vodacom Bulls to win United Rugby Championship final

The DHL Stormers, against all odds, are the champions of the inaugural United Rugby Championship.

The Cape Town side defeated long-time arch-enemies the Vodacom Bulls 18-13 at the Cape Town Stadium (Green Point Stadium) last night in an error-strewn but thrilling grand final in front of 31 000 spectators, Sports Brief earlier reported,

The result was the first time that the Bulls had lost a final in franchise rugby, whether it be in Super Rugby or the United Rugby Championship.