South Africa looks for European cup win after losses

The European Champions Cup has proved a surprising struggle for South African clubs whose entry into the rugby competition four years ago was expected to intensify the battle for silverware, but whose results have been underwhelming.

Since the 2022 season, none of the South African representatives have made it beyond the quarter-finals and in the past two years have not even got past the last 16. South African teams have lost more Champions Cup games than they have won over the past four campaigns.

This season’s edition kicked off yesterday and three South African representatives — the Bulls, Stormers and Lions — faced intense scrutiny over how they would approach the competition.

The Johannesburg-based Lions are taking part for the first time while the Bulls and Stormers have competed in all four previous editions involving South African clubs, but have only one quarter-final appearance each.

“We need a South African team to make a semi-final or even a final this season,” Stormers coach John Dobson said this week.

“From our side we want the participation in the Champions Cup to continue and we want to respect the competition, and the best way to make that point is to do well in it,” he added.

The poor performance of the South African teams has had much to do with trying to manage players’ workload.

They have often sent fringe squads to away matches and spared marquee players the arduous travel to have them fresher and in better shape for home games, where they have a better chance at victory and collecting bonus points.

It has drawn a lot of criticism, including from former England flyhalf Stuart Barnes, who wrote in The Times that South African sides fielding second-string teams away in the Champions Cup “damages the competition.”

Also hampering selection is the need to manage the playing time of international players, in agreement with the South African Rugby Union, so that they are fresh to play for the Springboks. It would be a top priority over the next 12 months leading up to the Rugby World Cup in Australia in October next year.

There is also a perception that the South Africans prioritize the United Rugby Championship, where they have been much more successful.

This year’s Champions Cup starts earlier than usual and there is a lengthy break after this weekend’s opening round of pool matches before the next round in December. That offers a less intense initial schedule for the South Africans and would encourage them to select stronger sides.

The Bulls and Stormers kick off at home this weekend while the Lions face a baptism of fire against former winners La Rochelle in France today.

“It’s our first game in the Champions Cup, so we’d like to start that strong,” said Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen, whose side departed for France on Monday to have more time to acclimatize and will then stay overseas for back-to-back URC matches in Scotland.