Lucky Maree
It wasn’t always pretty and it certainly was no gimme but the four South African franchises made their intentions very clear with powerful performances over the weekend.
Last year, in the first season of the United Rugby Championship, all the South African teams made a slow start. Halfway through the season it was difficult to imagine that any of the Southern Hemisphere would play any part in the finals, but the Stormers hosted the Bulls in a classic Cape Town versus Pretoria final at Cape Town Stadium.
This year it is a different ballgame – and this weekend showed all the teams had decided to step up and get it right from the beginning.
On Friday evening, the Bulls beat Connacht in a no nonsense display of powerful, goal-directed rugby. It is a characteristic of Jake White’s teams that they celebrate the team rather than individual players, and this team is vintage Jake White.
The Bulls won by four converted tries to two and it was as if their victory was inevitable from the first kick-off.
The Stormers, playing their much more flamboyant brand of rugby, did the job in grand style on Saturday. Beating Edinburgh by four tries to two, it was a beautiful display of forwards and backs combining to create opportunities.
While not as clinical as the Bulls, the performance of their backs seemed at times unstoppable, with debutant wing Suleiman Hartzenberg scoring two tries.
The Lions surprised friend and foe – and especially Cardiff – when they turned on the heat in the second half to score a convincing win, adding three tries to the one in the first half.
Scrumhalf Sanele Mohamba once again showed his skills behind the scrum. If he doesn’t become hysterical like Faf de Klerk, this guy could be a Springbok.
The Sharks almost dropped the ball when they squeaked in a last gasp try against the Dragons. Boeta Chamberlain converted to give the Sharks a one point victory. To be honest, the Sharks won the match against the run of play, with Grant Williams’ intercept try turning the tide. The Dragons’ briefing room on Monday will not be a happy place.
Bulls 28-14 Connacht
Stormers 34-18 Edinburgh
Cardif 18-31 Lions
Dragons 19-20 Sharks
Image source: @TheStormers
