The Lions made the most of an opportunity to bank five log points in Port Elizabeth while the Stormers squandered a similar chance in Singapore, writes JON CARDINELLI.

Lions centre Harold Vorster scored in the 76th minute at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday. That try, as well as the defensive effort that followed, ensured that the Lions beat the Southern Kings with a bonus point and ultimately finished round five of the Super Rugby tournament at the top of the South African Group.

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While the Stormers did enough to win by a comfortable margin in Singapore, they failed in their quest to obtain the try-scoring bonus. That said, they remain in control at the top of the Africa 1 conference.

Neither the Bulls nor the Cheetahs managed to secure a log point from their respective matches against the Blues and Sharks. The Stormers remain unbeaten after four matches, and enjoy a eight-point lead over the Cheetahs (who have played five). The Cape side is 12 points ahead of the Bulls on the Africa 1 log.

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The teams in Africa 2 have been far more competitive. Thanks to their bonus-point win over the Kings, the Lions are one log point ahead of the Jaguares in the conference standings.

The Argentine side beat the Reds on Saturday night to record their fourth win in five matches. With 18 log points, the Jaguares are in the third qualifying place on the South African Group log. The Sharks (17 points) aren't far behind.

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There are unlikely to be any surprises in round six as far as the Africa 1 teams are concerned. The Stormers should beat the Cheetahs at Newlands. The Bulls will be underdogs when they travel to Hamilton to face the Chiefs – one of only three unbeaten sides in this year's tournament.

The Kings will enjoy a bye next week. The Eastern Cape side and the Bulls have five log points apiece, although the Bulls have a game in hand.

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Again, the Africa 2 clashes promise to be more interesting and less predictable. The Sharks need to beat the Lions at Ellis Park to keep the pressure on the Johannesburg-based side as well as the Jaguares. The latter team will enjoy a bye in round six before travelling to Durban to front the Sharks in round seven.

Meanwhile, the tournament-leading Crusaders have claimed 21 out of a possible 25 log points in their first five matches. The Brumbies still top the Australian conference, but have accumulated just 11 log points to date.

If the log points were the sole basis for log position, and if all teams featured on one combined log, the Brumbies would sit at ninth.

Photo: Michael Sheehan/Gallo Images