While there will be many articles pointing to the permutations for the top eight in this weekend’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship final weekend, the Vodacom Bulls have something more to play for as they head to Durban to face the newly crowned EPCR Challenge Cup winners, the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
The mostly-forgotten URC Shield will also be up for play and will add some more spice to the final game in the 18 round season before the playoffs start.
The DHL Stormers have claimed both South African Shield trophies since the inception of the URC, but as other coaches claim that the trophy for the best franchise within South Africa doesn’t matter much to them, you can bet they will all feel different if they have the trophy in their hands.
Thus far this season it hasn’t been much of an argument that the Bulls are the best South African franchise in the URC. They sit in second spot on the log with one round remaining, and this weekend will be hoping that a win in Durban, coupled with a Munster loss to Ulster (something that would be devastating to the Lions’ chances) will help them claim the top spot in the overall tournament.
That in itself will mean a top seeding for the playoffs and the option of home games for the rest of the tournament, with the fortress Loftus only being breached by the same Munster this season.
But in the South African shield things look a bit different and the Bulls hegemony will be shattered should the Stormers beat the Emirates Lions this weekend and the Bulls lose in Durban.
OFTEN OVERLOOKED BUT STILL SIGNIFICANT
The Shield is often overlooked, but the competition within a competition and the bragging rights of being the best franchise in one of the four territories has significance for the teams themselves, even if the overall results make a much bigger splash in terms of coverage.
Inside the South African shield, the Bulls have only lost once - to the Stormers in Cape Town - in their five derby games thus far. The Sharks game will be the sixth and final one for them and a victory, in any form, will see them grab the Shield for their trophy cabinet at Loftus Versfeld.
They have 20 points on the mini log, with the Stormers at 17 just behind them. The Lions have 12 and the Sharks 3.
A Lions win could see them leapfrog the Stormers in Cape Town should the home side not get a bonus point and the Lions take one for themselves. At the moment the Lions’ points difference is better than the Stormers and a win in Cape Town will hand the Shield to the Bulls while the possibility is still open to them leapfrogging the Stormers.
In the greater scope of things, the Bulls know they need to win anyway, as a victory should secure them a top four finish, while a win with a bonus point guarantees them a top two finish.
Should Ulster do the unthinkable later on in Limerick, they may well have the top spot for their own as well.