A complete guide to SA teams' games this weekend in the URC

South African franchises’ perfect record in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship was spoilt last weekend as the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks lost away from home.

With the Emirates Lions ending unbeaten on their short tour all eyes will be focused on them against Ulster while the Bulls and Sharks will look to redeem themselves.

All you need to know about the South African franchises’ fixtures lies below.

Friday 14 October

OSPREYS v DHL STORMERS

At Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea, 8.35pm kickoff

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR, 18th competition game)

Assistant: Aled Evans, Carwyn Williams (both WRU)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

With the Stormers winning their opening game of their short tour with relative ease, they will be looking for their 16th straight win in the competition and the odds are on the defending champions against the Ospreys, who have won just one of their last five Vodacom URC games - against Glasgow Warriors on 1 October.

The problem is, the Ospreys have not beaten a South African side since their win over the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth in April 2019 and while they possess a lot of firepower, they tend to struggle with the physical nature of the South African teams.

The Stormers have won all four previous matches they have played against Welsh regions and these two sides have met just once before, in Cape Town in April, with the home side running out 29-13 victors.

Key Stats

Ospreys

• The Ospreys have been excellent at retaining possession at the ruck, clearing out opposition players and recycling the ball at 97 per cent of these breakdowns

• The Swansea-based side gave away only three penalties at the weekend – the lowest total of the round

• Against Ulster in round four, Ospreys lock Rhys Davies made a tireless 29 tackles. This is the highest number in a match so far this season and more than any player made in a match in the entirety of last season. Funnily though, the best tackling performance in Vodacom URC 1 was also Davies against Ulster, when he made 28 tackles

DHL Stormers

• The DHL Stormers have made the fewest metres in contact of any team in the league, only making an average of 46.3 per match. They are joined in the bottom two for this metric by fellow Vodacom URC big dogs, Leinster

• The Stormers are yet to lose a match this season. However, rather surprisingly they have made the fewest number of carries (214), tackles (374), and turnovers (10) in the Vodacom URC so far this season

• Happy to play the game without the ball, the Stormers put their money where their mouth is in defence. They have the highest rate of dominant tackles in the league, smashing opponents with big collisions in 10 per cent of their tackles

Did you know?

The Ospreys have displayed the weakest gainline threat in Vodacom URC 2 so far, only crossing the advantage line with 44 per cent of their carries. In stark contrast, the DHL Stormers’ gainline success is 66.7 per cent, the joint-highest in the league (=Vodacom Bulls).

Last season’s top try-scorer, Leolin Zas, scored two tries in the Stormers’ victory over the Ospreys in Vodacom URC 1.

Saturday 15 October

EMIRATES LIONS v ULSTER RUGBY

At Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg, 2pm kick off.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU, 28 th competition game)

Assistant: Jaco Peyper, Griffin Colby (both SARU)

TMO: Ben Blain (SRU)

The Emirates Lions have been one of the surprises of the Vodacom URC this season and certainly surpassed all expectations with their three victories on the road, all of which came from being behind their opposition.

With the likes of Ruan Venter, Francke Horn and Henco van Wyk all making big impressions, the Lions’ young guns may not have the big names, but they certainly have the heart. But this weekend they will face stiffer opposition in Ulster, who have lost only one game thus far and have scored the most tries in the competition.

The Emirates Lions have only once before won four in succession in the Championship, between March and April this year. But the Lions have lost two of their last three fixtures in the URC in Johannesburg and their only previous victory over an Irish province was 23-21 over Munster at Emirates Airline Park on 19 March.

Ulster have won just two of their last five away games in the Championship with all three reversals being on South African soil. Ulster’s most recent victory in South Africa was against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth in October 2019.

Emirates Lions

• When in possession, the Emirates Lions took care of the ball last weekend. They conceded a round-low six turnovers

• However, they were less impressive in defence, missing more tackles than any other team in round four (34). Their tackle success rate of 80 per cent was also the lowest of the round

• Trying to inspire higher standards in the Lions’ defence, Marius Louw has made more dominant contacts in the tackle than any other back in the league so far this season (seven)

Ulster

• A real emblem of their style of play this season, Ulster have made more carries than any other team in the league - averaging 143.5 carries per match

• Ulster are the only side in the league who are yet to be shown a card of any colour. They have also conceded the fewest penalties of any Vodacom URC side (33)

• Mike Lowry made four offloads in round four, the most of any player last weekend and one shy of the record for a single match this season

Did you know?

In the first meeting between these sides, which took place last season, Ulster defeated the Emirates Lions 26-10 in Belfast.

Ulster’s Nick Timoney, who made more tackles last season than any other player, scored two tries in this fixture last time out.

CELL C SHARKS v GLASGOW WARRIORS

At Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban, 4.05pm kickoff.

Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU, 26th competition game)

Assistant: AJ Jacobs, Cwengile Jadezweni (both SARU)

TMO: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)

The Sharks will take some solace out of the fact they went head to head with Leinster in Dublin and were in the game before a red card saw them fall away in the last 20 minutes. Still, they are far from the team of big names that has inspired so much hope for their fans but will at least unleash Eben Etzebeth and Vincent Tshituka this weekend as part of their new signings for the Warriors, who are on a high after demolishing the Bulls last weekend.

The Sharks have lost only once in Durban in the Championship since June 2021: 5-21 to Edinburgh on 26 March but seem to have Scottish sides as their bogey teams as they have lost both previous fixtures they have played against Scottish opponents.

Glasgow Warriors’ last 14 matches in the URC have all been won by the home side on the day and the Warriors have lost on their last four visits to South Africa, since beating the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in September 2018.

Key stats

Cell C Sharks

• The Cell C Sharks have been the premier side at maintaining possession so far this season, conceding only 21 turnovers

• Making just 19 metres in contact, the lowest total of round four, the Sharks’ ball carriers were thoroughly nullified by Leinster last weekend

• New signing Rohan Janse van Rensburg didn’t have his finest game against Leinster. He missed seven tackles, as many as any other player in the round (=Marius Louw)

Glasgow Warriors

• Glasgow Warriors are steadily growing into the season. They have won more turnovers than any other team (37). This makes their fixture against the Sharks, who have conceded the fewest turnovers in the league, especially interesting. In particular, the Warriors have made a league-high six maul turnovers

• Glasgow have stolen as much ball from opposition lineouts as any team, poaching possession in the air on eight occasions so far this season

• Prop Zander Fagerson won four turnovers against the Vodacom Bulls in round four – more than any other player. No player has won more in a single game so far this season. The last time someone made this many turnovers in a match was in April, when Rory Darge won four against the Stormers

Did you know?

So far this season, the Cell C Sharks have thrown the fewest passes (263), playing narrowly, whereas Glasgow Warriors have thrown the most (660).

Glasgow overcame the Sharks when they visited Scotland last season, beating the Durban-based side 35-24.

The Warriors have had a spluttering start to the season, alternating between losses and wins. However, prior to this season, Glasgow were on a four-match losing streak.

MUNSTER RUGBY v VODACOM BULLS

At Thomond Park, Limerick, 8.35pm kickoff.

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 64th competition game)

Assistant: Andrew Cole, Dermot Blake (both IRFU)

TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)

While the Bulls were smashed last weekend by Glasgow Warriors, they arrive at Thormond Park arguably the better of the two sides with Munster struggling since Johann van Graan’s departure and having only won one of their opening four games. Munster will have a number of players back from the Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa and will be stronger, but the Bulls will also have Springboks S’bu Nkosi and Johan Goosen bolstering their ranks for the big game.

Despite their poor start, the Munstermen’s only home defeat in any competition since May 2021 was 19-34 to Leinster in Limerick last April.

Munster’s last six matches against South African opponents have all been won by the home side on the day and Munster have a perfect, played six, won six, record at home against South African sides in the Championship.

The Vodacom Bulls have won their last four fixtures against Irish provinces since Connacht beat them 34-7 in Galway last October.

Munster

• Really struggling to kickstart their season and facing an especially tough run of fixtures from here on out, Munster need to find more penetration with their attack: they have made the fewest line breaks in the league (eight), making only one against Connacht in round four

• Munster have made more metres in contact than any other team in the league, averaging 89.75 per match

• The men in red have caused a nuisance at opposition rucks more times than any other team, slowing down ball and making life more difficult for clearing forwards and half-backs looking to play the ball away (133). Fineen Wycherley and Niall Scannell have made the joint-most nuisances at the ruck (16)

Vodacom Bulls

• Lacking a real spark in attack, the Vodacom Bulls have beaten the fewest defenders in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship thus far (35)

• The Bulls have also missed more tackles than any other side so far this season, slipping off 88 in total. Their tackle completion rate is the lowest in the league, registering at just 84 per cent

• However, the Bulls have been effective at winning penalties at the ruck, winning back possession via a penalty awarded as a result of a jackal 12 times so far this season – more than any other side

Did you know?

The Vodacom Bulls narrowly defeated Munster when these sides met for the first time in Pretoria last season, winning 29-24.