CHAMPIONS CUP WRAP: Solid start for SA in weekend overshadowed by tragedy

In normal circumstances two good home wins in the Investec Champions Cup and a creditable away performance from the debutants in the competition, plus two good performances away in France in the EPCR Challenge Cup, would have us waxing lyrical about a positive weekend.

But it is hard to do that after an opening round that was overshadowed by what happened on the morning of the day that it all kicked off. Sports writers and commentators often refer to near misses or instances of misfortune during events as tragic when they’re really not - they’re just part of sport. The untimely passing of 10Bet Lions lock Hyron Andrews at the age of just 31 in a hotel room in France on Friday was a proper tragedy and it does put everything else in perspective.

Whether or not the Lions should have fulfilled the fixture given the emotional state they were understandably in, and that was made clear from the tears and wrought expressions during the minute of silence before their away game against La Rochelle, is a subject of debate. If it was the Lions’ decision to play the game to honour Andrews, then there shouldn’t be a debate, if there was any pressure of any sort brought to bear on them, then it’s a different story.

A DAY WHERE THE HUMAN SPIRIT TRANSCENDED PARTISANSHIP

What was evident in La Rochelle was the human spirit taking over from the usual tribalism in a moment of proper gravitas, with the usually partisan French fans applauding the Lions both before and after kick-off, clapping when the fifth minute, the number that Andrews would have worn, arrived in the game. It was an occasion that reminded us all that despite the partisan way sport is often supported, we are all human after all.

And that extended beyond just the crowd reaction and the overall emotion on the day, but also apparently to the coaching staff of La Rochelle, with their coach Ronan O’Gara, far from the least competitive and spiky personality in the competition, spending Friday afternoon with the Lions’ coaching staff. It was not lost on O’Gara, a former Munster player, that the date of Andrews’ death coincided to the 10 year anniversary to the day of the passing of Munster coach Anthony Foley in similar circumstances, also in France, and also with O’Gara, then with Racing 92, set to be one of the people in the opposition coaching dugout.

CREDITABLE PERFORMANCE ACHIEVED LIONS’ MISSION

The Lions were always underdogs against O’Gara’s team, who have two stars indicating Champions Cup successes on the chests of their jerseys. If the Lions’ intention of playing the game was to honour the life of their teammate, their creditable and gutsy performance in defeat achieved that in spades.

With a bit of luck and a bit more or a clinical aspect to their play, they could even have pressed for the win. Next time they play in the Champions Cup in December they will be at home, and given the importance of home wins, that is when the pressure will be properly ratcheted up for them.

STORMERS AND BULLS HAVE MUCH STERNER TESTS TO COME

December is also going to be when the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls are subjected to their first proper examination of their aspirations to go deep in the competition this year. They both won comfortably against good opponents, Bristol Bears and Stade Francais Paris, but in both instances the results were accompanied by that underwhelming feeling that descends when you know the opposition has travelled significantly under-strength.

Which in both instances was the case, the Bristol coach Pat Lam admitting before his team were well beaten by the Stormers that it was the youngest team he had ever selected. There was no surprise given the callowness of the opposition that the Stormers, who must rank as one of the best scrumming club teams in the world, dominated the scrums. It may have been a good thing too for they were down to 13 men for part of the time and at least down one man for more than 26 minutes, and there were stages in the middle of the game when Bristol punched holes in the Stormers’ backline defence. Given the importance of being perfect at home, it required a bonus point for scoring three tries more than the opposition for Stormers to hit target. They did that relatively late, although it always did feel inevitable, with the Stormers running away with it and going on a try scoring spree late in the game when they were back to playing 15 against 15. They scored seven in all, and all were converted by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who delivered a strong all round game and missed just one long attempt on the stroke of halftime from the tee.

BULLS COULD HAVE HIT 70

The Bulls had no trouble at all getting their bonus point and were dominant from the off, if not a bit wasteful and loose at times. Had that not been the case, Johan Ackermann’s charges could have hit the 70 mark against the outclassed visitors. For Ackermann, as is the case for his Stormers coaching counterpart John Dobson, it will be tougher next time around when they are both away, with the Stormers set to visit Bordeaux to face the Begles.

Which cues a point - there were too many lopsided games in the opening pool round because of teams not going full strength, but there were also some thrilling adverts of what the self-styled greatest club rugby competition on earth really stands for. Gloucester’s draw with Bordeaux-Begles, and they really should have won, at the Kingsholm Stadium was a thrilling way to kick the competition off. And ditto the narrow win scored by the other French Galactico team, Toulouse, over Exeter Chiefs.

That hint of teams maybe narrowing the gap on the French giants will increase interest in the next round to be played in December, but the Gloucester result was probably not the best result for Stormers, who have both teams in their group - and both of those opponents they will face away from Cape Town.

SHARKS’ WAS THE SA PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEKEND

Given the understrength nature of the opposition for the Bulls and the Stormers in the Champions Cup, perhaps the local performance of the weekend in the EPCR competitions was turned in by the Hollywoodbets Sharks, who a week after the reality check they were delivered at the hands of the Stormers gave a positive indicator of their upward trend on the growth graph.

You might say it was only the Challenge Cup, which is the secondary EPCR competition, and you’d be right, but that only makes the energy and commitment of the performance of a young Sharks team, which featured 12 changes, all the more laudable. The French teams take their home games seriously and winning in France is never easy, and the Sharks in this game were really impressive when it came to their attacking shape as well as the character they showed in striking for the win off the last move of the game when at another time the visiting team might have just settled for the draw after the disappointment of conceding the match equaling try off what proved the penultimate move of the game.

The Toyota Cheetahs were also highly competitive away against Bayonne, losing by just two points - overall, if this was a different time a highly positive weekend for SA but it is hard to say that given the over-arching news event of the weekend. RIP Hyron Andrews.

Investec Champions Cup first round results

Gloucester 36 Bordeaux-Begles 36

Sale Sharks 27 Glasgow Warriors 47

Vodacom Bulls 56 Stade Francais Paris 20

ASM Clermont Auvergne 23 Leinster 48

DHL Stormers 49 Bristol Bears 12

Connacht 45 Saracens 36

La Rochelle 31 10Bet Lions 14

Munster 33 Racing 92 25

Bath 14 Montpellier 32

Pau 41 Leicester Tigers 17

Toulouse 43 Exeter Chiefs 40