Playing overseas still a work in progress for SA teams

As the Springboks were completing their celebratory tour of the country the local franchises in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship were being issued a reminder that there is still a step that needs taking in the quest to maximise the benefits of the switch to the northern hemisphere for South African rugby.

Two South African teams contested the inaugural URC final and the DHL Stormers were silver medalists last year and hosted a second successive final but the overseas record in a competition where one of the big benefits for the country is the exposure to northern winter conditions and playing styles is poor.

The fact that no South African team has ever beaten Glasgow Warriors at the Scotstoun for instance, a record that Franco Smith’s team kept intact with their hard fought win over the Stormers, tells the story that there is still work to be done. The Vodacom Bulls scored a seismic win in the 2021/22 semifinal against Leinster at the RDS Arena otherwise Ireland also remains a frontier to be conquered, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks were reminded this weekend that even the Welsh can be competitive on their home grounds.

BULLS FILLED THEIR BOOTS

The Vodacom Bulls filled their boots against Zebre in Parma but winning against that team and in Italy in particular has never been a problem for South African sides. Indeed, the URC era started off with a match in Parma between Zebre and the Emirates Lions in September 2021 where the Lions ran riot in the first half.

For the rest it has been a bit a struggle, and while it is true that the South African teams were without their Boks in the third round fixtures, that’s not an excuse the Sharks can use as the Ospreys team they lost by 14 points to was missing most of their team to the Wales v Barbarians game.

Their coach Toby Booth gave the impression at a Vodacom URC media round table last week that for his team the game played at a neutral venue in London was just about giving his young inexperienced players a bit of exposure to the URC level of rugby. So it was a bit surprising that the Ospreys won so comfortably even though the poor recruitment that has set the Sharks back over the past few years should hardly be news to anyone.

The Sharks do have a new coach in John Plumtree, who is back for a second stint, but what the early rounds of the URC have shown us is that he has been hamstrung by the poor recruitment that has blighted the tenures of many of the other coaches that have taken charge in Durban over the past 10 years.

The priority for Plumtree is to bring in a new culture and playing identity and he said at the start that would take time. But he is also not working with a squad that he himself recruited and it would be interesting to hear if he feels he has the material to implement the more attacking and ambitious game plan that some of his players appear to be struggling to adjust to.

SHARKS HAVE YET TO GET OFF THE MARK

The Sharks have yet to get any kind of log point from three games and will be pleased that their next engagement is in Parma, where everyone always win, for their first home game against Connacht on 18 November is no longer a gimme as the Irish team is now top of the log after their upset win over Ulster in Galway.

Of course the Sharks will be more of a force once their Boks have returned, but it is debatable that they will get the entire contingent back by the Connacht game, with Plumtree, like the other local coaches, committed to a case by case approach when it comes to reintegrating the World Cup winners.

The Stormers’ loss to Glasgow was not unexpected as the hosts would have started as favourites on a 4G surface that the Stormers are still struggling to adapt to, an impression that was confirmed with the amount of slipping in evidence in their defeat on Friday night. But their coach John Dobson should be concerned with the poor discipline that saw his team down to 13 men at one point.

ROOS MUST WATCH THE RED MIST

Evan Roos is a superb player and is set to go a long way in the sport but he does need to watch the red mist that appears to descend on him at times. Perhaps more concerning though for Dobson given that he may be struggling to get to full muster in the midfield for a while yet was the apparent malfunction in the defensive play of the makeshift centre pairing in the first half.

Fortunately they did appear to rectify that in the second half, and indeed the Stormers can feel heartened by their entire second half performance. They were unlucky here and there otherwise they could well have come back to win as they were the dominant team after halftime.

The unforced errors, something they got away with in their big wins on South African soil that took them to top of the log, requires urgent attention before they play Benetton in Treviso on Saturday.

Connacht’s win lifts them to top, with the Bulls and Stormers third and fourth respectively after three matches, with Leinster’s current sixth position a reminder that the URC is a marathon rather than a sprint, so there is no need to panic just yet. It is time though for the South African sides to start winning overseas.

Weekend Vodacom United Rugby Championship results

Ospreys 19 Hollywoodbets Sharks 5

Glasgow Warriors 20 DHL Stormers 9

Zebre 29 Vodacom Bulls 54

Leinster 36 Edinburgh 27

Scarlets 31 Cardiff Rugby 25

Munster 45 Dragons 14

Connacht 22 Ulster 20

Benetton 15 Emirates Lions 10