The news that was run large on overseas platforms earlier in the year that South Africa might be reconsidering its commitment to the Investec Champions Cup was refuted by local administrators but there was apparently enough smoke to go with the fire for the local clubs to be on guard.
The local teams haven’t fared well in the Champions Cup thus far and making the quarterfinal round has been as far as the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks have got in the elite European competition.
When the Bulls did get there, they went understrength because of the logistical challenges implicit in being part of two cross-hemisphere competitions, with the Vodacom URC being regarded as their bread and butter business.
Which it most definitely is, but also in big part to the role it plays in securing the SA sides a place in the Champions Cup. The Sharks are not there this season because they finished outside the top eight in the URC, the second time that has happened, and will be playing in the less prestigious EPCR Challenge Cup instead.
They won that competition two seasons ago but the real value of that triumph was that it was a means to get them into the Champions Cup having again floundered in the URC. When the following season they dropped to the Challenge Cup after the initial rounds of the Champions Cup, they made no secret of what they thought about the other competition when they sent an under-strength team to their playoff game.
They are likely to go under-strength to Lyon at the weekend too, with their appearance in the less intense and prestigious competition giving them a chance to test depth and to save the top players for the URC, with the primary aim being a top eight finish so they can be at the top table at EPCR level again next season.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO SA CLUBS
The point is that while they may not have given that impression because necessity dictated they go under-strength to some games, which by the way overseas teams often do too depending on where they are in their domestic competitions when the European fixtures arrive, the Champions Cup is important to SA clubs.
Becoming competitive in Europe and perhaps winning the most elite club prize is very much the ultimate goal of the ambitious clubs, which obviously includes the Stormers, who when they speak of John Dobson’s ‘Project 2029’ very much have Champions Cup glory in mind, and the Bulls.
The Sharks can be listed there too, because they did talk about European success as being their dream at the start of the second URC season, but at the moment they are talkers rather than doers when it comes to that.
Which pretty much, to be fair, is the status of the Stormers and Bulls, although last year they did show signs of being able to mount a credible challenge. The Toulon team that the Stormers lost to away in their round of 16 game only because of a couple of late howlers from the referee went on to contest the semifinal round. And the Bulls should have beaten Glasgow in Glasgow the same day.
WINNING AT HOME IS THE BOTTOM LINE
The SA sides have been long enough in the competition now to know the bottom line - winning at home is imperative, which is why the Bulls and the Stormers are the teams that should be feeling the pressure in this first week, and if you do lose away games you have to ensure you pick up some losing bonus points.
Your chances of success in the knockout rounds are multiplied significantly if you secure home ground advantage and it was because sometimes the task had become unrealistic after the first two games, think the season before last when no teams got out of the group phase, that the local clubs have tended to take away the emphasis on the competition after the initial stage.
FORMAT EASES LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE
That initial stage was in the past made up of two games back to back, home and away, in the first half of December. That has changed this season, with the early kick-off to the Champions Cup coming about through a desire to split the games to make the logistical challenges easier.
Playing a round now and then another in December should avoid the scenario the Sharks faced last year when they played an away game overseas on a Sunday before hosting Saracens the following Saturday.
That put them on the back foot before a game had been kicked off. This time around we will still get back to back games in January, but by then the teams will know where they stand and what they are playing for.
A win on Saturday for the Bulls and Stormers as they host Stade Francaise and Bristol Bears respectively will put them on the front foot when they travel to Europe for one off games in December and if they win those they will be playing for the good group positions that will facilitate home advantage going into the playoffs.
Indeed, the Stormers won three of their four games last season and still lost out, which was unlucky, but should also increase their motivation to do well this time - as should the Sword of Damocles that may be hovering courtesy of the rumoured second thoughts on SA’s participation.
LIONS’ DEBUT FORMS PART OF SATURDAY’S TRIPLE HEADER
The 10Bet Lions make their debut in the elite competition when they travel to France for their game against double champions from a few years ago, La Rochelle, and it will be interesting to see how they approach it. There’s no point in busting a gut to make the Champions Cup if you aren’t going to go all out, but do the Lions have the depth to mount a strong challenge in both the URC and the Champions Cup?
The Stormers and the Bulls just may, and that is why there should be more optimism about their chances this year. The change of format should help, and both clubs now appear to have enough depth to still be competitive anywhere if they just mix and match their selections more wisely.
In other words, a change up might still be necessary when they travel, but they shouldn’t need to select what could be described as a youth or synthesis between second and third string as has sometimes been the case in the past.
The debut of the Lions should add some intrigue to what for South African television viewers should be an absorbing Saturday triple header - starting with the Bulls game and finishing with the game at La Rochelle.
Investec Champions Cup opening round (South African fixtures)
Vodacom Bulls v Stade Francaise (Pretoria, Saturday 2pm)
DHL Stormers v Bristol Bears (Cape Town, Saturday 4:15pm)
La Rochelle v 10Bet Lions (La Rochelle, Saturday 6:30pm)
EPCR Challenge Cup
Lyon v Hollywoodbets Sharks (Lyon, Saturday 2pm)