Bulls, Stormers aim to buck SA’s worrying Champions Cup playoff trend in Europe

In past seasons, the extraordinary demands of competing across the hemispheres and in two major tournaments concurrently have shaped selection policies and led to a series of one-sided contests.

As a result, expectations have been tempered in the lead-up to each instalment of the Champions Cup – and as things stand, no South African team has managed to progress beyond the quarterfinals of this elite tournament or to win a playoff fixture staged in Europe.

News of potential travel restrictions due to the war in Iran threatens to compromise the knockout stages of this season’s competition, or at the very least, hamper SA’s quest for an improved showing.

And yet, the message coming out of the Bulls and Stormers camps this week has been overwhelmingly positive.

There’s reason to believe that they will head to Glasgow and Toulon respectively with a realistic chance of winning – and setting up a historic quarterfinal showdown in Cape Town next week.

“If we’re in the playoffs of the EPCR, we must give it a go,” said Bulls coach Ackermann, who has selected Handré Pollard, Willie le Roux and the rest of his available Springboks for the trip to Scotland.

“We’re going to go out and give it our best shot.”

Stormers boss John Dobson was similarly optimistic.

“We want to respect this competition and we want to go as far as we can,” he said. “No SA team has made a semifinal, so that’s something we’re very aware of.

“A couple of years ago, we probably wouldn’t have had the capacity. Now, despite the injuries, I feel like we’ve got a bit more depth and the ability to go full-out for this.”

Meanwhile, the Sharks – who failed to qualify for the Champions Cup playoffs – will feature in a Challenge Cup knockout match against Connacht in Galway on Friday.

Rotten record in Europe

After joining the United Rugby Championship in 2021, the SA teams had to wait another season before featuring in the two European competitions – with the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers eventually qualifying for the 2022/23 Champions Cup.

The results of the South African teams in Europe tell a story.

While four of the five sides have been largely dominant at home (the Cheetahs have had to play most of their fixtures in Europe due to their wildcard status) they have struggled to compete in overseas fixtures.

Taking both European competitions into account over the past three seasons, the South African teams have combined for just nine wins in 21 playoff fixtures.

That record is boosted by the six wins in the second-tier Challenge Cup, and the fact that the Sharks accumulated four victories en route to claiming the lesser European title in 2024.

The numbers in the Champions Cup are particularly dire. The Bulls, Stormers and Sharks have a combined playoff win record of 38%, but none of these heavyweights have managed to win a major knockout game overseas.

The scorelines show how they have failed to land so much as a punch in the elite battles staged on European soil.

Back in 2023, Toulouse thrashed the Bulls 33-9 in the Round of 16 playoff before thumping the Sharks 54-20 in the quarterfinals, while Exeter hammered the Stormers 42-17.

A year later, Northampton Saints put the Bulls to the sword, winning 59-22 in a one-sided quarterfinal that prompted many commentators to question whether the South Africans deserved their place at the Champions Cup table.

The tournament as a whole has come in for criticism in recent years, as coaches from both hemispheres are often forced to select weakened squads for away fixtures in order to mitigate travel and player welfare challenges.

The Bulls’ selections before that 2024 quarterfinal suggested that the side from Pretoria didn’t believe they could win a big clash on foreign soil.

The congested club schedule may have forced them to save their resources for later URC fixtures – and the tactic paid off to an extent, as they went on to host the final against Glasgow.

Bulls hold the key to all-SA playoff

The South African teams have everything to prove this weekend, in spite of a surge of form in the URC.

It’s been a particularly successful fortnight for all of the local clubs, who have racked up valuable wins against overseas opposition, albeit in South African conditions.

It remains to be seen whether the Bulls and Stormers can make the step up to the Champions Cup, and change the narrative around travelling South African teams.

While wins in France have been difficult to come by in both the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, the Stormers made a statement earlier this season when they claimed a 26-17 victory in Bayonne.

Despite a mid-season slump where they lost three successive derbies, the Stormers have been SA’s most balanced and consistent team over the course of the season. They are currently in second place on the URC log, and remain on track to host a quarterfinal – and possibly a semifinal and final.

Dobson’s charges may fancy their chances against Toulon, who have failed to record a win in their last five matches in the French Top 14, and are currently 11th in the local standings.

If the Stormers travel well, and sharpen up their execution and discipline, they may well emerge with another statement victory this Saturday.

Following that, Dobson and company will scramble to find a screen showing the later game between the Glasgow and the Bulls.

The result of that match, of course, will determine whether the Stormers travel to Scotland for a quarterfinal – incidentally, they’ve lost the past two URC quarterfinals at the same Scotstoun venue – or back to Cape Town to host a playoff.

Glasgow have taken giant strides under former Bok flyhalf Franco Smith in recent seasons, and surprised all and sundry when they beat the Bulls in Pretoria to win the 2024 URC final.

They’re currently at the top of the URC standings, and at this stage favourites for the title. Few will bet against them this weekend, given their recent form and the Bulls’ playoff record.

That said, the Bulls have shown some improvements in recent weeks, and have won six of their last seven matches.

Their attack has received due plaudits – scrumhalf Embrose Papier is in the form of his life, and former Junior Bok winger Cheswill Jooste has provided fresh impetus from the back – but this match may be decided by smart management and uncompromising defence. This will be a massive test for a Bulls side that has underperformed without the ball this season.

The Bulls may take some confidence from last season’s 26-19 win in Glasgow, during the league phase of the URC. While a Champions Cup playoff victory remains elusive, they know how to win at Scotstoun.

It may seem like an unlikely scenario at this point, but if the Stormers win in Toulon and the Bulls knock over Glasgow, the Champions Cup will have its first all-South African quarterfinal in Cape Town next week. DM