If the Covid curve ball thrown by the UK government’s decision to put South Africa back on the red list can be overcome, this weekend’s round of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship will see a similar focus from local teams to the one that the Springboks didn’t quite get right at Twickenham.
“Make full use of your opportunities when they come” might sound like an easy instruction to follow but in practice it is a lot easier said than done. Nonetheless, it should be uppermost in the minds of the South African players and coaches after what they experienced in the initial four weeks overseas. Against disciplined overseas teams, opportunity just doesn’t knock that often so if you don’t take it when it comes, it may not come again.
Cell C Sharks flanker Henco Venter summed up what would have been a universal feeling when he spoke of the frustration of so many missed opportunities for his team last time out against Cardiff.
Even the DHL Stormers, who finished off their tour with a win over the Dragons, will have felt they could have converted more opportunities and won more emphatically than they did, although their second half performance in that game and their margin of dominance after halftime was emphatic.
IMPERATIVE TO WIN HOME GAMES
Taking opportunities though doesn’t just apply to converting points in a game. Given what has gone before, all four local teams will be under massive pressure over the next two weeks to do what you simply have to do if you want to compete in this competition – namely win the home matches.
None of the teams returned from overseas with more one win to their credit so the must-win focus applies to all of them.
Drop points at home and you may find yourself lagging too far behind the eight-ball in the race for silverware and Champions Cup spots for next season when the South African teams next go into action with more overseas games in early January.
After a break of six weeks there might be some rust to contend with. Byes were sometimes momentum breakers in the old Super Rugby days, and when it comes to byes, this one was a biggie. But given the improvements that were made during their overseas tours, and the switch of hemispheres to more familiar conditions, plus the return of a limited number of vaccinated spectators, all four teams stand a good chance of winning in this round.
STORMERS SHOULD PICK UP FULL POINTS
The Stormers in particular should be expecting to pick up full points as they host a Parma Zebre team that has struggled so far and was well beaten at home by the Emirates Lions in the opening fixture of their campaign.
The Lions are the only team that has been named at the time of writing as all the franchises take the maximum time allowed – they can name their teams 24 hours before kick-off – for them to make their selections public. It doesn’t make it easy to publicise the competition, and we don’t know at this point, early Friday morning, where Damian Willemse will be playing for the Stormers.
But it is going to be an interesting selection regardless as the search for a fullback to replace Willie le Roux surely has to factor in Willemse’ teammate Warrick Gelant as much as it does himself. Gelant was the form South African player in the initial phase of the competition and the injury that kept him off the field for several months has robbed him of none of his class.
Willemse can of course play in the midfield, as can Gelant, so the chances are both will be accommodated in the starting team – the question is just where?
Among the other Stormers players looking to build on the promise they showed overseas are No8 Evan Roos and lock Salmaan Moerat, with the latter likely to be joined in the second row by Marvin Orie, who has now returned from Springbok duties and like Willemse is available for selection.
BULLS SHOULD BE EXPECTED TO DEFEND LOFTUS FORTRESS
The headline game this weekend is probably the clash between the Vodacom Bulls and Munster at Loftus. The Bulls have rebuilt their fortress since the arrival of Jake White as director of rugby and they will be pleased to be back there after struggling more than expected in their overseas games.
It is understandable but also a pity that Munster are unable to field their Irish internationals for this game but the Bulls should still be wary of a team that has a coach in Johan van Graan who’d be particularly eager to do well against his former team. The squad system at all the Irish provinces is impressive and one thing they do have is depth, so while there may be second string combinations here and there it doesn’t necessarily mean Munster will be significantly weakened.
There has yet to be a South African win over an Irish team in the URC so the Bulls will be eager to take the opportunity and their fellow local teams might feel similarly. That is even given the competition between the SA sides that is set to intensify when the derby phase of the competition arrives at the end of January.
With altitude on their side, and Munster will be reminded of that as they run out through the tunnel onto the field, the Bulls should start as favourites to pick up their second win in the competition.
PREDICTED WIN MAY DENT SHARKS HUMIDITY ADVANTAGE
The Cell C Sharks have become used to playing Welsh opponents after beating the Ospreys and losing to Cardiff overseas, and get another opportunity against a team from the Principality when they clash with Scarlets at Jonsson King’s Park on Saturday evening. It is going to be interesting to see how many Boks coach Sean Everitt returns to his team when he names it mid-morning on Friday.
The Sharks are hoping that the summer humidity in Durban will help them against northern hemisphere teams who of course will find those conditions completely alien to them, but with Cape Town type winds predicted for the city on Saturday the humidity might not be as much as a factor as it could otherwise be.
LIONS PROVIDE SUNDAY TOP-OFF
The Stormers, Bulls and Sharks all play their games on Saturday, presenting an absorbing and entertaining Saturday triple header for fans who want to spend the afternoon and evening in front of the television, and the weekend is topped off with the Lions clash with Cardiff on Sunday.
If humidity is a friend of the Sharks, then altitude might be an even bigger ally for the Lions, particularly at this time of year. If they can get their tempo game together, they could have their opponents blowing air bubbles.
They’ve welcomed back some influential players in the form of Willem Alberts and Tiaan Swanepoel since returning from overseas, and this game will also be the first in Lions colours for the impressive former Stormers wing Edwill van der Merwe.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Connacht v Ospreys (Galway, Friday 21.35)
Benetton v Glasgow Warriors (Treviso, Saturday 15.00)
DHL Stormers v Zebre (Cape Town, Saturday 15.00)
Prediction: Stormers by 15
Cell C Sharks v Scarlets (Durban, Saturday 17.30)
Prediction: Sharks by 10
Dragons v Edinburgh (Newport, Saturday 19.15)
Vodacom Bulls v Munster (Pretoria, Saturday 19.45)
Prediction: Bulls by 6
Leinster v Ulster (Dublin, Saturday 22.00)
Emirates Lions v Cardiff Blues (Johannesburg, Sunday 16.00)
Prediction: Lions by 8