Stormers are the surprise URC package

With just one round remaining I thought it would be a good idea this week to look at how our four South African teams have done in their first season in the United Rugby Championship.

The good news is the teams learned pretty quickly about their opposition, the conditions and refereeing after a tough start, so well done to them. It’s as if they went into a big exam not knowing what to expect but by the time the next exam came around they’d studied, prepared better and had analysed what was needed.

They figured out the “dos” and “do nots” so overall I’d give the SA teams a good pass mark of 60%.

But let me reflect on the four teams.

The Bulls will feature in the play-offs, a good achievement. They had a sneak peek of what to expect having played in the Rainbow Cup final in a losing cause against Benetton and learned very quickly what they needed to do to be competitive.

In that regard, they went back to what has always worked for them, backed their forwards and dominated the physical aspects of their games. That allowed their backs to score some great tries. In future I’d like to see them be more dominant at home. I’ll give them a 6/10.

The Lions in the end enjoyed a very decent first year. They started well with a win in their first match overseas, raising expectations, but then fell away badly. They struggled for several weeks, but then got a win under the belt and turned things around.

They played some good rugby, almost like the Lions of old, but the big concern now is the rate at which they are losing key senior players. Something will have to be done to turn this trend around if the Lions want to become a real force in the URC. For me, they had a 6/10 season.

The Sharks also lost momentum after a promising start to their campaign and while they’ve progressed to the play-offs, they just weren’t as clinical as we thought they’d be. They’ve got a seriously good squad, with class players, yet have battled at times.

The Durban side haven’t been able to properly put teams away and they’ve also found the going tough to put together 80-minute performances.

The good news is the Sharks look like they’re going to be a seriously strong team in the next season. For now, also 6/10.

My South African team for our first entry into Europe is the Stormers. After not doing much in the early stages, and even before entering the competition, the found their game, figured out what worked for them and they have played some sparkling rugby.

The Capetonians have done the business up front and at the back, they’ve got the balance between attack and defence spot on and have been the surprise package.

Also impressive is how the team management got the best out of the players, with so much nonsense happening in the boardroom, yet they stayed focused on the job,

I’m giving the Stormers 7/10.