The Bulls and Stormers’ Champions Cup defeats last weekend were infuriating, as both South African teams could’ve won their respective matches.
Don’t let the 27-5 score-line in the Bulls v Saracens encounter fool you. The Pretoria outfit had more than enough opportunities to put the English giants away in the first half already.
It was crucial that they did more of their scoring in the opening 40 minutes due to the strong wind blowing at the StoneX Stadium following Storm Darragh winding its way through the UK.
Jake White said he had never experienced such bad weather conditions for a game in 42 years of coaching, and that says something as the former Springbok mentor has worked in France, Japan and Australia as well.
But White and the players will know that they are a better team that they showed in London at the weekend, and they will hopefully show that once more in Saturday’s clash against Northampton Saints – who beat them in last season’s quarter-final – at Loftus Versfeld (3pm start).
The Bulls, though, didn’t even have their best team on the pitch. All of Ruan Nortjé, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Elrigh Louw and Wilco Louw were either injured or rested, young utility forward Reinhardt Ludwig was injured too.
Springbok star wing Arendse has been granted a sabbatical in Japan and will return to Loftus in May, while the two Louws were given a break after touring with the world champions in the November window.
But surely they should have featured against Saracens at least? It was understandable that they would miss the previous week’s URC clash against Connacht in Galway to give them a breather.
However, South African teams need to field their strongest possible side in the Champions Cup in every respect.
You get the feeling that the French and English clubs and rugby communities won’t consider the SA franchises as genuine contenders and give them the necessary respect until they pull off some big wins away from home, and actually take the tournament seriously.
That is what the Bulls did in the URC when they beat Leinster in Dublin a few years ago, and getting past Saracens last weekend would’ve had the same effect.
The Stormers are riddled with injuries at the moment, with a number of Springboks such as Damian Willemse, Frans Malherbe, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Salmaan Moerat Deon Fourie and Steven Kitshoff ruled out – not to mention other experienced players such as Brok Harris, Dan du Plessis, Sti Sithole, Ben Loader and Lizo Gqoboka.
Manie Libbok, Keke Morabe and Ben-Jason Dixon also went down in last weekend’s 24-14 loss to Toulon in Gqeberha.
But they have apparently opted to send a weakened squad to England this week for Saturday’s clash against Harlequins in London, like they did in last year’s clash against Leicester Tigers.
The Bulls did the same thing in last year’s Champions Cup quarter-final against Northampton, and subsequently lost 59-22.
The Lions also used an inexperienced combination in their Challenge Cup opener against the Ospreys in Wales, and were defeated 30-14.
At least the Sharks emerged victorious (39-21) against Exeter in Durban, having fielded all their fit Springboks, and one hopes that coach John Plumtree takes his strongest possible squad to Welford Road this week.
It has become clear that some star players are being kept in cotton wool for the upcoming SA derbies in the URC.
The Stormers and Lions square off in Cape Town on December 21, while the Sharks and Bulls are in battle on the same day in Durban.
A week later, the Stormers host the Sharks in the Mother City.
So, when will the SA teams start prioritising the Champions Cup? At the moment, you get the sense that the URC is still the main focus.
But the prestige of the Champions Cup far outweighs the URC. Imagine the Bulls beating Toulouse or La Rochelle in France? Or the Sharks knocking over Leicester this weekend?
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Part of the reason why the URC appears to enjoy more importance is the fact that the SA teams can’t host a Champions Cup semi-final or final at this stage, while they also just don’t have the financial muscle that the top European clubs have to buy any overseas stars.
But let’s hope that, just like the Boks, the SA franchises can beat the big teams away from home, and become genuine Champions Cup title contenders soon.