Opinion: South Africa’s top teams seek ruthless edge in United Rugby Championship
The game management of South Africa’s strongest teams will be in the spotlight as the United Rugby Championship local battle intensifies over the next two weeks, writes Jon Cardinelli.
The northern-hemisphere rugby community has already shifted its focus to a campaign-defining first round of the Six Nations. A win for Scotland against England, and indeed a victory for Ireland against title-holders Wales, could make for one of the closely fought championships in recent years.
Meanwhile in South Africa, an important series of URC matches will be staged over the next fortnight. All four franchises are looking to bank valuable table points before resuming more challenging fixtures against international opposition.
The South African derbies staged in February and March were always going to be particularly important for the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers in this inaugural URC campaign.
Struggle they did
Prior to 2021, many of the players in the four South African squads had not played fixtures in northern-hemisphere conditions. As a result, all four franchises were expected to struggle in Europe – and struggle they did, when they combined for four wins in the 16 away fixtures played over September and October.
A return to South Africa represented an opportunity for valuable points, and perhaps a boost to top spot in the South African standings. The winner of this division will advance to the URC play-offs and – perhaps most significantly – the 2022/23 Champions Cup tournament.
At the start of the current season, most predicted that the Bulls and Sharks would contest for this berth. Both have reaped the benefits of private investment in recent times, and both have the resources to perform across multiple tournaments (in 2022, the Currie Cup is overlapping with the URC).
The Sharks certainly made a statement via their big win against the Bulls in Durban. While the Bulls dominated the South African scene in late 2020 and for much of 2021 – winning a Super Rugby Unlocked series and two Currie Cups during that period – the Sharks’ 30-16 victory on December 3 appeared to signal the changing of the guard.
After another Covid-enforced break, the Sharks beat the Lions 47-37 to move to the top of the South African standings. With a home match against the struggling Stormers looming, they were well placed to strengthen their position on the table – as well as their bid for a Champions Cup place.
The Sharks led the Stormers 11-3 at half-time. They built on their lead during the early stages of the second stanza and looked to have the result in hand.
Thereafter, a bout of poor discipline and awful decision making culminated in a relinquishing of the lead. A late penalty try allowed the visitors to snatch a draw.
The Bulls were just as guilty of taking their collective foot off the pedal when they hosted the Stormers two weeks ago. Jake White’s charges led 18-0 after 30 minutes. A poor second-half showing, however, led to a 30-26 defeat – the Bulls’ first loss to the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld since 2017.
The Stormers deserve credit for their performances in both fixtures. The franchise has made headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent years, and the power struggle between at administration level has taken its toll on the coaches and players. Somehow, the Stormers players rallied to claim a win against the Bulls in Pretoria and then draw with the Sharks in Durban.
On the other hand, the composure of the ‘Big Two’ needs to be questioned. The Bulls are too good a side to blow an 18-0 lead at home. The Springbok-laden Sharks were in a position to secure the four-try bonus point this past weekend, but went on to concede three yellow cards in the latter stages, and ultimately a victory.
The Sharks’ draw with the Stormers means that they are four points clear of the bottom-placed Lions in the SA standings after seven matches. They could relinquish the lead in the South African division this weekend, of course, if they lose to the Stormers in Cape Town and the Bulls beat the Lions in Pretoria.
The Springboks may have won more than eight Tests in 2021 if they had shown more composure and ruthlessness during the latter stage of big contests.
They had the British & Irish Lions on the ropes in the first Test of that series staged in South Africa, yet failed to make their forward dominance count sufficiently on the scoreboard. They pushed the Wallabies close in the first Rugby Championship encounter, but conceded a penalty at the death and lost the match.
The Boks did the same in the first Test against the All Blacks. At Twickenham last year, they faltered at the key moment to allow England to claim a narrow yet important win.
These lapses in discipline and accuracy must be addressed if the Boks are going to win more matches in 2022. The top players competing in the URC have to show an improvement in these departments – for the sake of their franchises as well as the national team.
It’s been a difficult season, in that the players have been forced to deal with a number of Covid-curveballs. The South Africans have had to adapt to the challenge of playing rugby at the height of summer. The humid conditions in Durban at this time of the year, for example, are not conducive to high-tempo, free-flowing game.
That said, the team that adapts quickest will strengthen its claim for first place in the South African standings, as well as a spot in Europe next season.
The Sharks in particular are under pressure to bounce back. Their game management will be under the spotlight when they take on the Stormers in the shadow of Table Mountain.
The Bulls could build some momentum via another big win against the Lions this week. They will host the Sharks thereafter, and that fixture could well reveal which South Africa team is on track for the division title.