The quarterfinal lineups in the two European competitions are a big endorsement for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship that South African teams have been participating in for the past two seasons.
While three teams in the last eight of the premier European competition, the Heineken Champions Cup, is probably no more than what was expected, a glance at what is happening in the Challenge Cup confirms how strong the URC is. With five URC teams through to the last eight, it means 50 per cent of the teams still alive in the two European competitions are from the URC.
The URC is made up of by teams from South Africa, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy. They are joined in the two European competitions by teams from the Gallagher Premiership (England) and the French Top 14.
Edinburgh, Munster, Ulster, the Vodacom Bulls and the Ospreys failed to make it through to the next round of the Champions Cup, but two of those fell to fellow URC teams. Munster were outplayed by the Cell C Sharks in Durban, while Ulster, as most would have anticipated, couldn’t match the URC log leaders in the big Irish derby in Dublin.
Two South African teams, the Sharks and the DHL Stormers, join Leinster as the URC representatives among the eight remaining teams in the Champions Cup. There are three teams from the Premiership in the last eight, and two from the Top 14.
When you get to the Challenge Cup, the URC success rate is more remarkable, with the Emirates Lions being joined in the last eight by Scarlets, Benetton, Cardiff Rugby and Glasgow Warriors. That makes it a more than 50 per cent URC representation in the last eight of that competition, and if you put the quarterfinals of the two competitions together, then eight of the 16 (50 per cent) remaining participants are URC teams.
Looking at the spread across the two competitions, there are three English Premiership teams still alive with three rounds to go, and five teams from the French competition. One of the most remarkable results from the round of 16 was the Emirates Lions’ 50-pointer against Racing 92.
Looking at the past weekend’s action, it appears that home-ground advantage was more important in the Champions Cup than the Challenge Cup. There was one draw among the eight Champions Cup games, with the home teams victorious in every other game. One of the most interesting results was how close Gloucester came to upsetting the competition champions, La Rochelle. They lost by just three points.
In the Challenge Cup, there was a more equal spread of home and away victories, with Clermont Auvergne and Lyon winning on the road against Bristol and Stade Francais respectively.
In the main event, Leinster will continue their search for their fifth European title by hosting Leicester Tigers in the first Champions Cup quarterfinal on Friday, while the two South African teams have tough away fixtures on Saturday against Toulouse (the Sharks) and Exeter Chiefs (Stormers). Exeter advanced courtesy of a superior try count in their exciting draw with Montpellier, thus denying the Stormers the opportunity to host a home quarterfinal by the narrowest of margins.
Given how closely they were pushed by Gloucester, La Rochelle’s home game against the English powerhouse club Saracens should be one to watch on Sunday.?When it comes to playing style and form, the Lions’ visit to Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun could also be worth watching as both teams play an exciting brand of rugby. While the Warriors will start as favourites, they did lose to the Lions in South Africa a few weeks ago.
WEEKEND HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP RESULTS (round of 16)
Leicester Tigers 16 Edinburgh 6
Cell C Sharks 50 Munster 35
DHL Stormers 32 Harlequins 28
Leinster 30 Ulster 15
La Rochelle 29 Gloucester 26
Exeter 33 Montpellier 33
Toulouse 33 Vodacom Bulls 9
Saracens 35 Ospreys 20
HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP QUARTERFINALS
Leinster v Leicester (Dublin, Friday 21.00)
Toulouse v Cell C Sharks (Toulouse, Saturday 16.00)
Exeter v DHL Stormers (Exeter, Saturday 18.30)
La Rochelle v Saracens (La Rochelle, Sunday 16.00)