A good Friday night for South Africans at Sale Sharks
With SA’s official United Rugby Championship (URC) challenge on hold this past weekend, one of the country’s unofficial teams, the Sale Sharks, upset a star-studded Bristol to advance to the Champions Cup quarterfinals.
The Champions Cup is Europe’s most prestigious competition — and one that will accommodate SA’s URC top team in the 2024 season.
It is where the big money is in
European rugby, and it is one of the lucrative benefits for SA’s URC teams post the 2023 World Cup.
For now, South African interest is primarily with the Sale Sharks, who started the play-off win with six South Africans in a pack of eight, with halfbacks Faf de Klerk and Robert du Preez, and with three more South Africans on the bench.
The South African presence was also reflected on the scoreboard, with the
Saffas combining for 30 of the 35 points and Jean-Luc du Preez throwing the assist pass for the one try not scored by South Africans.
Friday evening was a good night to be South African at the Sale Sharks, with the Du Preez loose-forward brothers again strong, and De Klerk and Lood de Jager also good.
De Klerk and De Jager have confirmed their departures at the end of the season and will be motivated to take Sale past the Champions Cup quarterfinals for the first time ever.
The last 16, played home and away, has been interesting because the likes of Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht have featured; these are teams that also play in the URC. Connacht, at home, pushed the powerhouse Leinster, but took a beating in Dublin.
Ulster were successful in Toulouse when, on the two previous Saturdays, they lost in SA to the Stormers and the Bulls.
It reaffirmed the strength of the South African domestic game, especially when playing in SA. Leinster’s visit in the next fortnight will be huge.
The Irish side is the best in the URC and arguably the best in Europe, and the matches against the Sharks and Stormers on April 23 and 30 will be like back-toback finals for SA’s two highest placed teams.
Leinster are to European rugby what the Crusaders have been to Super Rugby. They are the litmus test.
Talking of Super Rugby, the Blues’ first win against the Crusaders in Christchurch in 18 years produced exhilarating rugby, with All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett sensational.
Barrett has been indifferent at Test level since the All Blacks coaches in 2019 played him in a twin role of fullback and flyhalf, but he finally appears to have settled at the Blues and if Barrett is entrusted with the No 10 jersey in the Rugby Championship, the Springboks should be on high alert for their two Highveld clashes.
I’ve been dismissive of the All Blacks in the past 12 months, more based on a pack that struggled against the Boks and were destroyed by Ireland and France. But there has been a lot more steel to their Super Rugby competition than a year ago — the younger forwards are a year older and the skill level of the backs has been insane.
Ireland’s former coach Joe Schmidt will also be in the mix post the three-Test series against Ireland.
Schmidt is a New Zealander who many years ago coached the Blues. Since his return to New Zealand, he has been assisting Blues coach Leon Macdonald.
What we have seen from the Blues has much of Schmidt already engraved on performances.
The All Blacks are unlikely to be the soft touch up front they were in Dublin and Paris, which will make for a glorious fortnight in SA. More immediately, it is imperative the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls all win in the URC.