UPHILL BATTLE UP NORTH
All the remaining games for SA teams in the Champions Cup will be on the road in Europe
A year after South African teams took a leap to the new United Rugby Championship (URC) in Europe, the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers qualified for the Champions Cup in 2022. Now here we are with two South African teams in the knockout rounds of one of the most prestigious rugby competitions on the planet.
The Sharks and Stormers deserve to be part of the final eight. It’s not just their results that are worth celebrating, but how they achieved them in South Africa’s first season in the Champions Cup.
The traditional physicality and kicking accuracy that won the Springboks three World Cups have been complemented by an ambitious and ruthless attack. The Sharks scored seven tries in their 50-35 hammering of Irish giants Munster at the weekend and the Stormers ran in five tries in the 32-28 win against Harlequins of England.
The Stormers’ scoreline flattered Quins, who scored three tries in the last three minutes after the hosts had made a series of changes that compromised their synergy.
The question now is whether the South African teams can carry their form into quarterfinals to be staged in Europe. It’s a stern test for teams coming to grips with a new competition, as well as an opportunity for a group of Boks looking to make a statement ahead of the 2023 World Cup in France.
The Sharks boast a lot of Boks and may feel they have the firepower to match Toulouse, whom they meet in their home city of the same name on Saturday. Toulouse are a team bursting with internationals. Whether the Sharks can persist with the same approach that proved successful against Munster in Durban is an open question.
It might officially be spring in Europe, but some matches in the northern hemisphere have been played in wet and cold weather — as was the case when Toulouse beat the Bulls 33-9 last Sunday. To win, the Sharks will need to adapt to those conditions, the quirks of refereeing and a hugely partisan crowd.
The Stormers appear to have an easier task in Devon against England’s Exeter
Chiefs, who have lost a number of quality players since winning the Champions Cup in 2020. The Chiefs are not the force they once were.
Exeter drew 33-33 with French team Montpellier in Sunday’s round-of-16 clash, and advanced to the quarterfinals because of their better try-scoring record. They are hardly in the same class as Toulouse.
This weekend will take the two South African teams into uncharted territory.
Only the Bulls have won a playoff in Europe before, beating strong Irish team Leinster in
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After the weekend’s win against Harlequins, Stormers coach John
Dobson highlighted the importance of the fixture between Exeter and Montpellier. Had Montpellier won, the French team would have travelled to Cape Town to face the Stormers, who may have persisted with the tactics suiting the warm autumn conditions of the region and channelled the energy of the passionate Cape crowd. But with Exeter advancing, the Stormers travel to England, and may have to alter their game plan to account for the weather.
A win for either South
African side would be monumental. Even so, they will not host a semifinal because of a ruling by the European rugby authorities. It’s even been determined that the final will be played in Dublin.
If the Sharks or Stormers are to win the Champions Cup this year, they have to win three consecutive matches in Europe. At least this could be good experience, as Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff remarked after the win against Harlequins. It will give the Springboks in the two teams a taste of World Cup conditions for later this year.
The Champions Cup has also given the South Africans the chance to play against the best teams particularly those from top-ranked nations Ireland and France in foreign climes,
and to adapt to local conditions.
Even if the Sharks and Stormers win this weekend, they will return to South Africa and navigate their way through the final league fixtures of the URC before heading back to Europe for the Champions Cup semifinals at the end of the month. The travel demands and the pressure on top players competing across the tournaments have been a big talking point this season.
The Stormers are well placed because they have already qualified for the URC playoffs, and may choose to rest a few key players in the lead-up to the Champions Cup semis should they qualify.
They remain in the hunt for a top-two finish in the URC and home advantage for the quarter- and semifinals and will be able to field strong teams against Munster and Benetton in the last two league games.
The Sharks are in a more desperate situation. While their large Bok contingent has returned from the mandated period of rest and have made an immediate impact they still have everything to prove in both competitions. Even if they win in the Champions Cup this weekend, they
may need to play their Boks in the final two URC league fixtures to secure a spot in the playoffs of that tournament.
The Bulls, after losing to Toulouse, will have a week to reflect on their recent struggles before the URC restarts next week. They have endured a horrendous run of form, and lost 10 consecutive games in the URC, Champions Cup and Currie Cup. They need to hit back against Zebre and Leinster to secure a spot in the URC playoffs, and a place in next season’s Champions Cup.
The Lions will also be involved in a European rugby playoff this weekend when they tackle Glasgow Warriors in the Challenge Cup quarterfinal. Despite copping an early red card against French side
Racing 92 last week, they persisted with their brave brand of rugby to win 51-28.
A win against the
Warriors who are coached by another former Bok player and assistant coach in Franco Smith would serve as a boost to their season. The Lions look set to miss out on the URC playoffs for the second straight season, and Champions Cup qualification.
The Bok selectors will be watching the European matches closely even those excluding South African teams. World Cup-winning flyhalf Handré Pollard has been in sublime form for Leicester Tigers, while No 8 Jasper Wiese scored a game-changing try in Leicester’s win last Friday against Edinburgh. Perhaps Leicester could do the other South African teams a favour by contributing to another famous victory against Leinster in Dublin in the quarterfinal this Friday.
The Sharks and Stormers struck a blow for South African rugby when they qualified for the Champions Cup quarterfinals. The next round will reveal how much these teams have progressed in foreign climes, and, indeed, how close they are to claiming the biggest prize in club rugby.