Much better URC start for SA teams this time

It helps of course that they aren’t all playing away from home this time around, but even so there is a marked contrast between how the South African teams have started the second edition of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in comparison with this time last year.

It has started much in the way most of the latter part of last season went, with the local sides winning all their games against overseas opposition. The only game dropped so far after two rounds of the competition by a local team was the Emirates Lions in their first game - but they were playing the Vodacom Bulls.

In some cases, there is a carry-over from last season, which for some is good and others not so good. in some cases it is good and in some cases not so good. The DHL Stormers for instance showed with some of their offloading in their game against Connacht that while they’ve lost an important player in Warrick Gelant, they’ve retained and maybe even threaten to improve on the X-factor element that won them the inaugural URC title.

The try that was rounded off by Andre-Hugo Venter in the Danie Craven Stadium was as good for the sublime skill that created it as any try scored by the Stormers last year, and that is saying something. The one scored by Hacjivah Dayimani was also quintessential Stormers 2021/2022 season.

Perhaps not enough credit is given to John Dobson for his role in his team’s success. For that is what shines through for the Stormers, the fact they still don’t have stellar star players, and particularly not when they are playing without their Springboks, like they were against Connacht, but that they amount to more than the sum of their parts. And that comes down to great planning and coaching and the creation of a proper culture.

BAD HABIT

The Sharks by contrast showed off one of their bad habits from last season, being their tendency to drift in and out of games and not play for the full 80 minutes. Make no mistake, Zebre Parma are growing, and will be tough to beat in Parma this season, mainly because of the infusion of South African talent into their ranks. So, the Sharks win was nothing to scoff at, particularly given that the Sharks are the franchise with the most missing Boks.

It was the Sharks’ first game in the competition, but even at this embryonic stage of the season the flyhalf issues that dominated their last campaign are writ large, maybe even more so now that so many of the flyhalves they do have contracted to them are injured. The way Zebre came back at them in the second half did pose some questions, and they were similar to the ones that were asked last season.

At the same time though, the Sharks’ attacking game worked really well in the earlier parts of the game, and as we say, it was their first game in the competition, so let’s wait a bit before we decide whether they are on an upward trajectory or on a plateau.

BULLS STILL TO MAKE THEIR BIG STATEMENT

The Bulls have undeniably grown their game and have the different angles to their attack that many would like to see the national team evolve to, and you also have to factor in Jake White’s decision not to play pre-season games. Edinburgh are also a dangerous team and were quarterfinalists last year.

But the Bulls themselves might agree that they haven’t quite made the statement yet about their readiness to go from runners up to champions, and there was some controversy around the way they got their close win in Pretoria. Edinburgh were good enough at altitude to suggest they will be a tough team for the Stormers to beat this coming weekend, depending of course on whether they will have their Boks back.

Perhaps the best South African result of the weekend, given what it means, was the Emirates Lions’ narrow but excellent win over the Ospreys in Swansea on Saturday night. The Lions were the one team that did win early on the road last year, they beat Zebre in their opening game, but winning away against a side like Ospreys was a more significant moment.

They were also pretty competitive even in defeat in their opening game against the Bulls so the Johannesburg franchise should feel that their start has been an encouraging one. And compared to where they were this time last year, all the South African sides should feel satisfied. At least they are not going to have to chase from behind this year, they are up with the other contenders for log honours right from the start.

MUNSTER UPSET BY DRAGONS

And while the leading local sides sit with 100 percent records, one of their big rivals for play-off places, Munster, has already lost a game. They lost it to the lowly Dragons at that, a result that is seismic for several reasons, one of them being that this was a week dominated by controversy for the Dragons amidst rumours that their director of rugby is being dispensed with.

A win over a top Irish team is also good for the morale of the overall Welsh club game and was much needed.Elsewhere Glasgow Warriors’ South African coach Franco Smith had something to smile about as his team bounced back from defeat to Benetton in the opening week by running riot against Cardiff - that one wasn’t good for Welsh rugby - while Leinster started to flex their muscles with a comfortable win over Benetton.

Ulster made sure they kept pace with their Irish rivals with a high scoring win away to Scarlets.

WEEKEND RESULTS

Zebre Parma 37 Cell C Sharks 42
Glasgow Warriors 52 Cardiff 24
Leinster 42 Benetton 10
Scarlets 39 Ulster 55
Vodacom Bulls 33 Edinburgh 31
DHL Stormers 38 Connacht 15
Ospreys 27 Emirates Lions 28
Dragons 23 Munster 17