Bosch among the points

Curwin Bosch, who has notched 35 points so far in his maiden Heineken Champions Cup campaign, crossed for a try and kicked three conversions and a penalty as Cell C Sharks triumphed 29-7 at Emirates Lions in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

Fly-half Bosch’s individual effort was the visitors’ only score of the first half and they were held at 7-7 at the break in Johannesburg.

However, they took control in the second half as Thaakir Abrahams, Fez Mbatha and Grant Williams crossed to secure their eighth league win of the season.

Byrne fronts Leinster thrashing

Harry Byrne put up 16 points as Leinster Rugby routed Dragons RFC 43-14 to make it 14 straight wins in the URC.

Leinster, who are the Heineken Champions Cup’s leading try-scorers on 28 after they won all four of their pool stage games, crossed the whitewash seven times in Dublin.

Fly-half Byrne got over for a double and added three conversions as Luke McGrath, Rhys Ruddock, Jordan Larmour, Rob Russell and Charlie Tector also dotted down.

Libbok helps DHL Stormers to narrow win

DHL Stormers remain Leinster’s nearest challengers in the URC after Manie Libbok kicked 13 points to see them edge Vodacom Bulls 23-19 in Pretoria.

The two South African sides, who are debuting in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, played out a thrilling contest and the hosts led for much of the first half thanks to three Chris Smith penalties.

DHL Stormers recovered thanks to fly-half Libbok’s efforts, plus tries from Marcel Theunissen and Junior Pokomela, though Vodacom Bulls remained in the hunt amid a late score from Sbu Nkosi.

La Rochelle see off Castres

In the TOP 14, reigning Heineken Champions Cup winners Stade Rochelais eased to a 32-17 victory at Castres Olympique.

Antoine Hastoy, the leading points-scorer heading into the Heineken Champions Cup Round of 16, contributed 22 points as he kicked six penalties and two conversions.

La Rochelle also grabbed tries through UJ Seuteni and Joel Sclavi as they recorded their 10th league win of the campaign and ended Castres’ 30-game unbeaten run at home in domestic competitions.

We’ve taken a look at the best of Saturday’s domestic action involving Heineken Champions Cup Round of 16 clubs, with Curwin Bosch tallying 14 points for Cell C Sharks at Emirates Lions.