TAKING EUROPE BY STORMERS

THE evidence points to the South African franchises having significantly improved URC standards right across the board.

So English fears — witness their continual bitching and moaning — that the Saffers’ arrival would herald a European power-balance shift, have been well founded.

First-contact between the ‘new’ and ‘improved’ URC, the Gallagher Premier and the Top14 clubs in Heineken Cup action has heavily favoured the first-mentioned.

All eight URC clubs made the knock-out stage alongside five from eight English and three from eight French clubs.

South Africa rugby took a big risk committing their four biggest clubs — known as the ‘Metro Franchises’— to play in Europe.

And while the jury may be out on how this will affect their national team ahead of trying to retain the Rugby World Cup, their clubs are prospering in this season’s Heineken Cup pool stages, the Stormers won last season’s URC and Bulls beat Leinster at the RDS in the semi-final.

Somebody, somewhere — and most think this is the brainchild of former Munster boss and RWC2019 winning coach Rassie Erasmus — deserves real credit for their vision.

Weakest

Those champion Stormers, having secured a home tie against Harlequins in the Last16 of the Heineken Cup, are in Ireland at the minute, playing Ulster in Belfast tonight.

This fixture lands on a weekend traditionally once considered the ‘weakest’ set of fixtures in the northern hemisphere calendar as it is the weekend ahead of the Six Nations.

There are 34-42 players from each of the six participants unavailable as they are in international camp and, as a result, club sides must improvise with reserves and Academy players.

Yet here are Stormers, despite pursuing rotation following last week’s win over Clermont, with five Springboks in their squad.

Coached by John Dobson, the Cape Town-based Stormers are unbeaten in their last 20 home games and, as ominously alluded to by the coach, they are getting better at this travel thing.

“Previously, what our players and rugby public identified with were the qualities of the respective national teams,”says Dobson of what South Africa are set to learn, just as what they are set to teach the Irish, Welsh, Scottish and Italian participants.

“But now we are all getting to understand just how strong the rugby tradition and culture is at club level, and the support there is for the clubs.

“It makes for one hell of a tough experience on the field, but the hospitality we have experienced wherever we have gone has been an experience of a different kind.”

Testing

Right now, the Springboks get to play in the Rugby Championship, testing themselves against the All Blacks and Australia. While their players, individually via their clubs, are learning how to handle European rugby and European weather ahead of an

Autumn\winter Rugby World Cup in France later this year.

Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber had 20 URC players in his 35-Man squad last November for the games against Ireland, France, Italy and England; nine were based in Japan, four in France, two in England.

Continues Dobson of the URC: “There is so much respect from us for the game up north and for how our participation and presence as South Africans has been embraced.

“As a coach and someone who has always wanted to visit places I had read about, I get to experience the best of both worlds, and more and more I am seeing that in the younger players.

“It isn’t just a case of getting on a plane, getting to the hotel, to the training ground and back to the hotel, playing the game and getting back on a plane. There is so much more we do with our time, and it makes for a far more enjoyable experience.

“The URC league allows for such a cultural education and we, as a team, embrace it fully.”

Tonight is fourth-placed Ulster — shorn of their Six Nations squaddies Jacob Stockdale, Stuart McCloskey, Rob Herring, Tommy O’Toole and Iain Henderson — against second-placed Stormers.

Academy

There is, all the same, only one change to the Alan O’Connor-led starting pack — Eric O’Sullivan in at loosehead for O’Toole, instrumental in overpowering Sale in the final Heineken pool game

This entails Academy star Harry Sheridan, last week’s Man of the Match Nick Timony and the player Stormers will be most familar with, Duane Vermeulen, at No.8.

None of the four highly-rated

Ulster half-backs made the Ireland squad, leaving Dan McFarland to start Nathan Doak and Billy Burns, keeping John Cooney and Ian Madigan in reserve.

Stewart Moore and Ben Moxam deputise for McCloskey at inside centre and Stockdale on the wing, respectively.

“Stormers are going to be a very difficult animal to what we faced last week, says Ulster Assistant Coach, Jonny Bell, ULSTER (v DHL Stormers, Kingspan Stadium, 7.35, SRU, BBC NI, RTÉ, Premier Sports): Lowry; Lyttle, Hume, Moore, Moxham; Burns, Doak; O’Sullivan, Stewart, Allen, O’Connor, Carter, Sheridan, Timoney, Vermeulen. SUBS: Andrew, Sutherland, Warwick, Treadwell, Murphy, Cooney, Madigan, McIlroy. DHL STORMERS: Blommetjies, Hartzenberg, Nel, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Smit, du Plessis, Ungerer, Vermaak, Kotze, Harris, Dixon, Orie (CAPT), Pokomela, Engelbrecht, Roos SUBS: Ntubeni, Blose, Sandi, van Heerden, Theunissen, Jantjies, Wolhuter, de Jongh.