It was around this time last year that the players from the Cell C Sharks were picked up on television supporting the Vodacom Bulls in a game in Cardiff, but that South African spirit is unlikely to be repeated in this weekend’s round of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
Back in those early days of the URC, when the overseas commentators were ridiculing the South African effort, it was easy to let national pride have a say. But those times have changed, and the memory of last year’s tight battle for Shield honours, won by the eventual overall champions, the DHL Stormers, will underscore the inter-franchise competitiveness that will come to a head with two important derbies next weekend.
And when it comes to the conference battle, there are some teams starting to face proper pressure, most particularly the Bulls. While it looks extremely competitive in the Shield, with the champions in front but just three ahead of the last placed Bulls, there is a caveat that needs to be added in the form of the game in hand the Stormers and Sharks have on the other teams.
The Stormers, currently on 17 points to the Sharks and Emirates Lions both on 15 and the Bulls on 14, have played one game less than the Lions and Bulls. As have the Sharks.
Those two teams have also played one game less than the two front-running teams on the overall log, the Irish duo of Leinster and Ulster. Which puts the two local coastal teams in a good position on both fronts as this season, unlike in the inaugural edition of the competition, they do the running from the front.
If the Sharks and Stormers win their weekend games against Uster and Cardiff respectively, we could even see the Stormers move into the top two, ahead of Ulster and still with a game in hand. But with a round of derbies set to end this initial phase of the competition next week, it may well be the conference positions that are becoming more important at this point.
BULLS IN CRUCIAL PHASE
Going into next week’s appetising Sunday derby at Loftus against the Sharks with their opponents and the Stormers already more than a game to the good in terms of log points and with a de facto game in hand will put the Pretoria team under massive pressure.
So their clash with Benetton in Treviso on Friday night has become a must-win for them, and not just because they need to halt the losing slide that started with the loss to Glasgow Warriors two weeks ago and continued against Munster. They go to a venue where the hosts have an excellent record, and underlined the importance of this game by resting their top players against Edinburgh last week.
The Bulls’ director of rugby Jake White will probably not feel too much panic right now, not just because he has been in this position before and come out of it, but also because he will know there are other aspects of the season so far that make reading too much into the log a bit premature and maybe even unfair.
For the Stormers definitely had the easier draw initially, with none of the so-called Irish top three in their schedule in the first block of six matches. Last week’s clash with the Ospreys was their only tough game so far, and that was really also only because of the inclement weather the Swansea game was played in. The Stormers were rightly aggrieved that they let a winning position slip, but they were happy with the overall performance and the draw.
NOT KNOWING WHO TO SUPPORT
They will be favoured to beat Cardiff, but in a sense are not in a dissimilar position to last week, for it is a game that could go the other way, with the conditions likely to have a big say. Needless to say though, particularly if they lose to Benetton, the Bulls won’t be supporting the Stormers in this game, and their nationalism may not even be enough to get them to support the Sharks against Ulster.
There may also be some uncertainty about who to support in arguably the big global game of the weekend, the Irish derby between Leinster and Munster in what is expected to be a packed Aviva Stadium on Saturday. A Leinster win will put them further over the hill ahead of the rest, and make getting pole position a difficult proposition for South African sides, but at the same time a Leinster win will put Munster, who are expected to be competitive for play-off spots and home ground advantage, in a parlous position, with four defeats from six starts.
It makes for another really interesting and absorbing weekend of Vodacom URC action, with it all starting with the repeat of the 2020/2021 Rainbow Cup final on Friday night.
WEEKEND FIXTURES AND PREDICTIONS
BENETTON V VODACOM BULLS (TREVISO, FRIDAY 18.30)
Bulls coach Jake White has shaken up his team by making seven changes, but will know that it was a touch of understatement that he said to the media this week that “It’s no longer an ambush, we already know it is a tough game.” It would be the height of idiocy for any army commander to be ambushed in the same place twice, and White is no idiot, and his players will have fresh memories of the humiliation dished out to them in last year’s Rainbow Cup final. Benetton rested their top players against Edinburgh last week, and that is an indication of their determination to keep their good home record in Treviso intact. White is right, this will be a close game and his team will have to play well to win. The key is probably for the Bulls to start well and with intensity, something they have hitherto failed to do on tour.
PREDICTION: BULLS TO SCRAPE A NARROW WIN.
CONNACHT V SCARLETS (GALWAY, FRIDAY 20.35)
Both these teams have had better seasons than they are having now, with Scarlets going into this game 13th and the hosts going into it second last. However, Scarlets will know how tough it is to play Connacht at The Sportsground, and their recent record suggests as much, with their win over Munster being followed by a competitive showing against Leinster in another derby.
PREDICTION: CONNACHT BY 12
ZEBRE PARMA V EDINBURGH (PARMA, SATURDAY 14.00)
Benetton were under-strength but nonetheless Edinburgh were impressive in hitting the straps against the other Italian team last week. Injuries have robbed Zebre recently of the impetus that appeared to be building in the early games and while they may be competitive initially, they shouldn’t have enough to prevent Edinburgh from making it two consecutive wins over Italian opponents.
PREDICTION: EDINBURGH BY 8
EMIRATES LIONS V GLASGOW WARRIORS (JOHANNESBURG, SATURDAY 16.05)
The Lions are in the top five and compared to where they were this time last year, that is something for them to get excited about. They should be particularly excited about how they are playing and appear to be growing, with the likes of wing Quan Horn a really impressive player for the future and 21-year-old centre Henco van Wyk already having some people writing him into the Springbok team. Coach Cash van Rooyen will know where they lost it last week, it was with the soft mistakes made in big moments, and if his team can show the same composure at Emirates Airlines Park that they did on their recent winning tour, they should have enough to beat a dangerous Warriors team.
PREDICTION: LIONS TO WIN BY 7
CELL C SHARKS V ULSTER (DURBAN, SATURDAY 18.15)
Everyone got excited last week about the Sharks’ attacking game, and rightly so. In truth, even in their tour games they showed a lot of promise. Now that they have all their top Springboks back, which means they should have plenty of power up front and a potential strong forward platform to look forward to, they should run riot. Right? Well, maybe not, for the weather forecasters are predicting showers for Saturday, and that may mean the Sharks will be facing Ulster in the kind of northern conditions that Edinburgh exploited last season. If it is wet it will demand that the Sharks are tactically on point, for even though they were pushed by the Lions at altitude last week, this is a very good Ulster team they are playing. The Sharks should though have too much for them up front and should avenge the defeat they suffered in Belfast in the deciding game of last year’s league phase for the Durbanites.
PREDICTION: SHARKS TO WIN BY 8
LEINSTER V MUNSTER (DUBLIN, SATURDAY 18.15)
It would be hard to suggest to a complete neutral, meaning no country allegiance, which of the two games being played concurrently they should watch. If you are going for the atmosphere created by a massive crowd, perhaps the Aviva Stadium game is the one to go for, for while the Kings Park clash should draw fans, particularly given how the home team played last week, it is unlikely to be the nearly 50 000 being anticipated in Dublin. Munster bounced back to some form against the Bulls last week but Leinster tend to hold sway in this intense Irish rivalry and there has been nothing we’ve seen so far this season that should suggest anything different now.
PREDICTION: LEINSTER TO WIN BY 10
CARDIFF V DHL STORMERS (CARDIFF, SATURDAY 20.35)
Phew, the Stormers surrendered their winning run last week, is this the weekend where they also surrender their impressive unbeaten record, which currently stands at 15 games? Don’t bet your house against it, but the Stormers were impressive enough even in the inclement conditions of Swansea last week to suggest they should start this game as favourites. The news on the weather front though is not good, it appears to be constantly raining in Wales at present, and while the rain predicted for Saturday night in the Welsh capital isn’t as dire as it was in Swansea, it is still something that needs to be taken into consideration when predicting the outcome. We also don’t yet know what team John Dobson is going to select. But on the weather front, can it be as bad as last week? The Stormers experienced that and sort of survived, so they should survive again and pick up the points for the win.
PREDICTION: STORMERS TO WIN BY 7
DRAGONS V OSPREYS (NEWPORT, SUNDAY 16.00)
The Dragons hit a high a few weeks ago when they beat Munster, and they were more than just competitive a week later against the Sharks. Both of those games were at home in Newport, and subsequent to that they have struggled away. The Ospreys had their big guns out against the Stormers last week, and if they have them again in this derby, they will have a good chance of winning.
Prediction: Ospreys to scrape it