URC focus shifts to Lions and Sharks, SA’s perennial underachievers

South Africa’s European campaign concluded last weekend with the Stormers and Bulls falling short in their respective Champions Cup playoffs staged in Toulon and Glasgow, and the Sharks going down in the Challenge Cup round of 16 fixture in Galway, Ireland.

It’s concerning to note that none of the local franchises has managed to qualify for a semifinal since joining the European club structures in 2022.

The Stormers and Bulls will take some valuable lessons from the near misses in France and Scotland, but it’s unclear whether they will make history in the northern hemisphere next season.

The more pressing concern, of course, is the final phase of the United Rugby Championship (URC), which begins in earnest next week.

With four rounds to play, the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers remain in the hunt for the playoffs, as well as qualification for the 2026-27 Champions Cup.

The local contingent will have the luxury of focusing on one tournament in the coming months – and will enjoy as many as three byes over the next seven weeks. Furthermore, with their European obligations done and dusted, the South African sides won’t have to worry about bouncing between the hemispheres and managing travel-related fatigue.

Each two-game tour will be bookended by a rest week, and all South African teams that qualify for the URC playoffs will have a bye before any potential away games in the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, the pressure to deliver over the next block of fixtures will be immense, especially for the Lions and Sharks.

The Bulls and the Stormers have carried the flag for South African club rugby since the country’s four leading franchises pivoted to the northern hemisphere in 2021, featuring in every edition of the URC playoffs and qualifying for all of the expanded Champions Cup tournaments.

The Stormers won the inaugural URC title in 2021-22 and the Bulls have featured in all four finals to date. The Lions and Sharks have been less successful. Cash van Rooyen’s charges are yet to qualify for the playoffs, whereas the Sharks – who’ve had four different head coaches during the URC era – have missed out on Champions Cup qualification twice.

The Durban side is yet to host a URC semi­final or qualify for a decider. Although the 2023-24 Challenge Cup title victory earned the Sharks a place in the subsequent Champions Cup tournament, it also offset a shocking run of results in the corresponding URC, where they finished 14th on the 16-team table.

Perennial underachievers

While the Bulls and the Stormers have been South Africa’s most consistent title contenders, the Lions and Sharks have been the nation’s perennial underachievers.

For all the hype around the Sharks and the big-name signings they’ve made over the past five years, they have failed to live up to their promise. Past results tell the story of unrealised potential, and they will be hard-pressed to change the narrative in the coming months, given that they are 10th in the URC standings with four matches to play.

JP Pietersen has steered the Sharks to several important URC wins since replacing John Plumtree in December, but it may be a season or two before his structures and vision for the club are fully realised.

For now, the Sharks’ playoff destiny remains in their own hands. They trail the eighth-placed Bulls by seven log points and may need two wins in away matches against the Ospreys and Edinburgh to remain in quarterfinal contention.

An ideal scenario sees the Sharks finishing that tour with 10 log points. They will face Benetton (12th) and Zebre Parma (16th) in Durban thereafter, and will expect to bank convincing victories in both matches.

The decline of the Lions has been one of the saddest stories in South African rugby. After dominating the local scene and qualifying for three consecutive Super Rugby finals between 2016 and 2018, their leading players as well as the coaches responsible for that golden era departed Johannesburg en masse.

Since the move to the northern hemisphere, the Lions have failed to progress beyond the league phase of the URC. The coaching staff as well as the administration came in for fierce criticism in the wake of another disastrous campaign last season, and if the team falls short again in the coming months, there may be significant changes at the Ellis Park HQ.

Like the Sharks, the Lions still have an opportunity to change the narrative and lay the platform for a more prosperous future. By qualifying for the URC playoffs, they will secure participation in the Champions Cup – and this achievement may unlock greater commercial opportunities, which in turn may allow them to contract bigger names and bolster their squad.

At this stage, the Lions are well placed in fifth position, but they have work to do if they’re going to qualify for the URC playoffs for the first time.

The Lions will host log leaders Glasgow next week and Connacht thereafter, and may be helped by the Warriors as well as Connacht possibly having one eye on the European playoffs – provided that both Celtic teams win their respective quarter­finals this weekend.

A tricky tour to Ireland will follow. If Leinster are still in the hunt for the Champions Cup trophy in early May, the Irish giants may opt to field a second-string side against the Lions.

Munster, who were recently knocked out of the Challenge Cup and face a fight to qualify for the URC playoffs (they’re currently in seventh place), are unlikely to do the visitors from Joburg any favours.

If the Lions win three or four of their remaining matches, they may earn the right to host a playoff at Ellis Park. If they lose the bulk of those fixtures, they may fall out of the top eight altogether.

The race for the playoffs is particularly tight this season, and it’s worth noting that Connacht (ninth place) are only four log points behind the Lions (fifth) at this stage.

Stormers and Bulls gun for home advantage

The Stormers and Bulls will double down on their efforts to secure a home quarterfinal in the URC now that they are out of the Champions Cup race.

Like the Lions, the Stormers will be watching to see whether Connacht and Glasgow prevail in their European playoffs this weekend. Both Celtic sides will travel to Cape Town in the coming weeks.

The Stormers’ league campaign will culminate in two away fixtures against Ulster (third) and Cardiff (sixth).

Both have been among the best in the URC this season, and may be pushing for a home playoff by the time the Cape side touches down in Europe.

The Bulls have remained overseas in the wake of their recent Champions Cup defeat to Glasgow to prepare for their next set of away games against the Dragons (15th) and Scarlets (14th).

If Johan Ackermann’s charges claim eight to 10 log points from that tour, they will be well placed to push for a home quarterfinal in the final fortnight of the league phase, when they will host two lower-ranked teams in Zebre and Benetton. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.