URC swings back into action, with South Africans on more assured footing after debut season

The second season of the United Rugby Championship (URC) in its current guise – that is, featuring South African teams – kicks off this weekend.

The Stormers, who surprised the competition’s UK powerhouses to clinch the coveted crown, will look to defend their title, while the likes of the Sharks and Bulls will be intent on wrestling the trophy away from the Western Cape side.

There is no question that defending their title will be a monumental battle, with the likes of Ireland’s Leinster smarting from a trophy-less campaign. Warrick Gelant’s departure to Racing 92 is a big loss, but Springbok hooker Joseph Dweba headlines the Stormers’ new additions.

The Stormers will play their two opening fixtures at home in Stellenbosch – versus Irish side Connacht (24 September) and Scotland’s Edinburgh – before jetting off to Italy to clash with Zebre Parma.

In the opening week, they and Durban’s Sharks will sit out the curtain-raising fixtures. According to the Western Cape-based outfit’s coach, John Dobson, they don’t mind having an extra week to prepare for the mammoth task at hand.

“It suited us. We played the extra weeks to get to the final. So, another week of pre-season is probably good for us. It increases the rest,” he told CapeTalk.

“Just seeing the energy, and how we're training in the group. It’s just extraordinary with all the competition for places,” he added. “There’s good energy. It’s better than I thought. I was trying to manage expectations. I probably still need to, but I’ve got a really good feeling about this.”

Gauteng derby

While the two South African teams will be resting and watching the early season action from home, the other two sides open their respective campaigns versus each other.

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The Lions, who missed out on a place in the playoffs last season and have lost some key players over the summer, host the Bulls in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The Bulls were last season’s bolters, muscling in on the top eight before making it all the way to the final after beating Leinster in their own backyard.

They fell just short in the Cape Town decider but have made a couple of exciting additions in the shape of former Sharks wing Sbu Nkosi and Wandisile Simelane (Lions).

They will undoubtedly be challengers once again, but will hope to make a better start than they did last term. The Tshwane side suffered five defeats in their opening six matches, leaving them to play catch-up.

The team’s mentor, Jake White, hopes to see a better Bulls this season, especially in the context of increased respect for the South African sides from the rest of the URC contingent.

“We probably jumped ahead quicker than we should have and now I’m quite keen to see if we can maintain that sort of momentum into the second year,” White said during the recent URC launch.

“Let’s be fair, there’s no way Leinster are bringing a ‘B-team’ to South Africa again, and no way Ulster will be set up like that in terms of their expectations of South African sides,” he continued.

“There is no way Irish teams, who are predominantly the best teams in this competition the last couple of years, are going to come with their eyes closed again.”

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After their attempt at taming the Lions, the Bulls will host Edinburgh and Connacht. The Lions face tough away tests when they travel to Wales to face the Ospreys and Cardiff, before scrumming with Edinburgh in Scotland.

Smarting Leinster

Ireland’s most successful rugby team, Leinster, indeed will come out guns blazing.

In a rare occurrence, the Dublin team ended the 2022 season trophy-less after being beaten in the semifinals of this competition by the Bulls. They also reached the final of the European Rugby Champions Cup, before losing to France’s La Rochelle.

Despite that double disappointment, the Irish side’s coach, Leo Cullen, believes they still had a great season.

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“There was a lot of really good stuff [last season],” Cullen was quoted as saying by Raidió Teilifís Éireann. “You get to a European Cup final and are ahead going into the last couple of minutes. You’ve clearly done a lot of good things to get to that point. You’re not there by accident. But you lose the game and everyone thinks that’s a catastrophe.”

Once more, Cullen and company will rely on the brilliance of flying flyhalf Johnny Sexton. The 37-year-old, who skippers the side, announced plans to retire from the game following the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He will be keen to sign off on high for the side.

Of course, with the passing years his injuries have become more frequent, so he will have to be managed adequately so that he is hopefully available for Leinster in crunch moments. DM

Weekend URC fixtures:

Friday:

Benetton vs Glasgow Warriors (6.30pm)

Saturday:

Zebre vs Leinster (2pm)

Lions vs Bulls (4.05pm)

Cardiff vs Munster (4.05pm)

Scarlets vs Ospreys (6.15pm)

Edinburgh vs Dragons (8.35pm)

Ulster vs Connacht (8.35pm)