Stormers may get rub of the green
Should they and Sharks slip up, Bulls will be ready to pounce
● The fortunes of the Stormers and the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship (URC) may well depend on how Leinster — the most decorated team in the competition — deploy their resources on their short tour of SA starting next week.
One of European rugby’s blue blood teams will, perhaps by cruel fate, be the kingmakers in the South African conference — with the Stormers, Sharks and the Bulls vying for top honours and a spot in the top seven.
The Stormers are fifth on the URC points table with 47 points after 15 matches, with the Sharks a point behind. The Bulls are three points adrift of the Sharks but they have the easier sequence of matches remaining.
Leinster, as you’d expect, are fighting battles on multiple fronts and it is their quarterfinal clash in the Champions Cup against English Premiership leaders Leicester Tigers away at Welford Road after their SA trip that will help shape their selections.
Though their head coach Leo Cullen was coy about the potential make-up of his squad in his interview with the Sunday Times, he expects a searching examination against the Tigers who have regained the spring in their step.
Cullen is likely to deploy two very different line-ups for the matches in Durban and Cape Town. The expectation is that he will field a vastly experienced team against the Sharks before unleashing some of his green horns against the Stormers the week after. That will allow his more grizzled players to rest up for their confrontation with the Tigers. Winning the Champions Cup remains their ultimate prize.
The Stormers, however, will not allow themselves to draw comfort from playing a less experienced line-up. Part of Leinster’s success which has propelled them to four Champions Cups (former Heineken Cup) and eight URC (previously Pro Rugby) titles is the ability to maintain optimum performance regardless of the make-up of their line-up.
“It’s about trying to get a balance,” said Cullen. “The quarterfinals in Europe will be after our trip. We have to box clever with the group that we have. A huge amount of work has gone in from the wider squad.
“We’ve used 54 or 55 players this season. It is about managing resources. We prepare the guys to win every week but sometimes we chop and change the group depending on certain circumstances. We will have guys that will be keen and hungry to go. That is the important piece, whether that is the experienced guys or the younger guys.”
He said their academy players are pretty fully integrated into their programme. “We usually rely on a lot of those young players. Then the recruitment piece and the succession piece is all important for us.”
Leinster will arrive in Durban buoyant after knocking Connacht out of the Champions Cup and, depending on the result against the Sharks, will travel to Cape Town with more breathing space at the top of the table. “Wins on the road are gold dust,” stressed Cullen.
“We will try to go down there with a good plan and see what we can get. It is a battle for every single point and you have to make sure that you are in good shape come play-off time.”
As much as they know the Tigers lie in wait, Leinster will be well aware not to repeat the mistakes from their maiden visit in the Pro14 era.
“We were the guinea pigs as the first team to go down there to play the Cheetahs and the Kings. We had a few mishaps, a few wrong steps. It is all part of the learning experience and the adventure. It will be hugely exciting especially if we get some of the younger guys to come down there.”
Should the Stormers and the Sharks slip up against Leinster, the Bulls will be ready to pounce.
The Bulls host one of the Italian stragglers, Benetton, before
facing a much stiffer challenge against Glasgow Warriors. They finish their league campaign against the Ospreys in Swansea.
It is worth pointing out twin defeats in SA will compromise Leinster’s lead and will bring Ulster and Glasgow Warriors into top of the table contention. Some tantalising selection choices await Cullen.