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What’s the opposite of exploding out of the blocks? Last week, in the opening round of continental domestic rugby, South Africa’s five teams added fuel to the argument that none of them belong on European pitches and are directly to blame for a once great competition bloating beyond recognition.
The Bulls, apparently the country’s best hope of securing a Champions Cup semi-final berth, got stuffed by Saracens in torrid conditions in north-west London. The Stormers dropped a clanger on home turf and were beaten by a double-digit score by Toulon despite leading after 57 minutes. In the Challenge Cup the Lions were undone by 16 points at Ospreys, a team that sits third-last on the URC table, while the Cheetahs could only manage a home draw against French strugglers Perpignan.
Thank goodness, then, for the Sharks who claimed a 39-21 win over Exeter Chiefs at Kings’s Park. Well, not quite. The Sharks fielded 10 Springboks in the starting XV and played three more off the bench. Exeter had to travel around 24 hours from Devon to Durban and arrived on South Africa’s east coast having lost all seven of their Premiership games this season. This should have been a cricket score. For their coach, Rob Baxter, to say after the game that his team “blew” a golden chance for a win shows how tight this really was.
If this sounds harsh then consider the rancour that South African clubs and their supporters have had to face for the past few years. When news broke that the Saffas would have a seat at Europe’s top table it was met with disdain and suspicion. England’s World Cup-winning coach, Sir Clive Woodward, called the decision “brainless”. France’s great wing, Philippe Saint-Andre, said it was “rubbish” and a “complete aberration”. Joe Marler snidely told TNT Sport,“You want to talk about Europe and we’re going to Natal Sharks next week, which is where? In South Africa.”
South African rugby supporters have largely brushed this all aside and met these quips and quibbles with shrugged shoulders. After all, just about every successful side in Champions Cup history has benefited from South African muscle. The great dynastic outfits of Toulon and Saracens that dominated the competition between 2013 and 2019 had more than their fair share.
The backlash to South African participation in a tournament sponsored by a South African company has largely been viewed as gatekeeping with more than a whiff of first-world xenophobia. Well of course they wouldn’t want the South Africans, those snobbish Brits and Francs. Something, something World Rugby conspiracy theory. Something, something Rassie Erasmus. Something, something four World Cups. They hate us cos they ain’t us, and all that.
I played up to this myself. Almost two years ago to the day I wrote that much of this apprehension was “rooted in a previous age where moustachioed imperialists divided the globe with rulers on a map.” I insinuated that critics, whether they knew it or not, were peddling an old colonial and anti-African sentiment, one that espoused an old theory that men raised on the continent’s southern tip had no place in civilised company.
Not that it mattered, though. Soon enough the five clubs would prove their worth on the pitch. Just like the Springboks they’d show that they belonged. And even though the Bulls sent a C-team to Northampton in last season’s Champions Cup quarterfinals, and even though the Stormers lost a thriller by a single point to La Rochelle in the round before, the Sharks’ celebratory reactions to winning the Challenge Cup showed that this meant something to the players. They’d had a taste of the side dish. Now it was time to take a stab at the main course.
Which is why this past weekend was such a disappointment. If these teams aren’t going to prove that they do indeed belong, that they are able to mix it with the development sides of Ireland, France and Scotland, er, I mean, Leinster, Toulouse and Glasgow Warriors, then what is the point? The toll this new format is taking on the environment cannot be ignored. All this criss-crossing of the globe, all that carbon emitted, has to be off-set by more than just carbon credits. We need trophies and famous wins in Dublin and the south of France. There has to be something to show for all the pushback and spats on social media.
Onto this weekend then and the chance to set things right. The Bulls have an opportunity to exact revenge on the team that knocked them out last season. Northampton Saints are not quite the swashbuckling outfit that lifted the Premiership title and are there for the taking.
The Sharks and Stormers have tricky ties in England but will back themselves to do the business against Leicester and Harlequins respectively. The Tigers are on a two-game losing run having been well-beaten by Sale Sharks and Bordeaux Bègles while Quins are in the midst of one of their trademark inconsistent periods. Both are beatable.
The Lions players and coaches have had the good fortune of sleeping in their own beds this week and will welcome Pau to Johannesburg on Saturday. Ellis Park won’t be full but it’ll still be 1,753 metres above sea level which could be the difference in the closing stages of the contest. The Cheetahs are the least likely winners as they head north to Cardiff. And though they won’t be expected to win, they are just the sort of group that could spring a surprise.
Three wins from five matches; that is what should be demanded by the South African public. Looking further ahead, a semi-final place should be the minimum requirement from at least one South African team. Anything else should be regarded as a failure.
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