Online Reporter
There will be a lot of focus on the Gauteng derby, which is the only Vodacom United Rugby Championship game to be played in South Africa, but this weekend is no less critical for the two coastal teams that will be playing overseas tonight.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks need to get back on the horse after the humbling experience of conceding 10 tries and 66 points to Bordeaux Begles in France in the Investec Champions Cup.
Their exit from that competition should mean extra emphasis on the URC as they wouldn’t want to be relying on the EPCR Challenge Cup to get them into the elite European competition this time around.
The reason they shouldn’t be banking on the Challenge Cup is because last year they at least had some home games during the knock-out round.
Up until the semifinal at their nominal home from home, The Stoop in London, they played their playoff games at Hollywoodbets Kings Park. This time around that won’t be possible as the Champions Cup teams that drop into the Challenge Cup have to play away.
But the Sharks’ URC campaign has been like day compared to night in comparison to last year’s, and they should comfortably finish in the top eight. Indeed, a top four finish is entirely possible, and for that much hinges on how they go against Cardiff at Arms Park today.
For the DHL Stormers a top eight finish is much less certain and while the derby phase was mostly good to them in the last month of last year, with a narrow defeat to the Sharks in Durban being followed by wins over the Lions and Sharks in Cape Town, they face three tough derbies after their visit to Leinster.
The Vodacom Bulls will be visiting DHL Stadium on February 8 for the Stormers’ last home derby of the season and then they travel to Gauteng for their remaining two games. They are currently 10th, within touching distance of the top eight, but if you speak to people in the Stormers camp, it becomes evident that the real aim is still a top four finish that secures at least one home playoff game.
To do that it is imperative to get across the line against Leinster on Saturday night. That won’t be easy, as Leinster are unbeaten in all competitions and top the URC log by 10 points.
They have a winning habit and an undeniable culture of excellence plus the motivation coming from the hurt of losing three successive Champions Cup finals and also failing to get a feel of the URC trophy in those seasons.
However, there is an opportunity for the Stormers that they spotted ages ago – most of the top Leinster players are away in Portugal at an Ireland training camp ahead of next week’s kick-off of the Guinness Six Nations. While he paid lip service last week to the need to beat Racing 92 to stay in the Champions Cup, the AVIVA Stadium game was the one that Stormers director of rugby John Dobson targeted on his team’s two match tour. It was why he rested his top players in Paris. – SuperSport.
