The Hollywoodbets Sharks’ matchup with Toulouse, the French powerhouse, will be the primary focus of South Africa when the Investec Champions Cup returns this weekend with round three.
The other two local teams, however, still have a remote chance of making it to the playoffs.
There was naturally a sense of pessimism about South Africa’s chances in the competition after all of the local teams failed to leave any impact in the second round before to Christmas break.
The KwaZulu-Natalians defeated the Exeter Chiefs, the sole victory among the three South African teams in the six local teams’ matches in the first two rounds.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks are still the SA team most likely to contend for a trophy because to the five points they earned in the match.
Despite losing badly and earning no log points from their match against the Leicester Tigers at Welford Road, John Plumtree’s underperforming squad at least met the competition’s first requirement: winning at home.
Which does contextualise the importance to the Durbanites’ quest for a place in the round of 16 of their game against Toulouse at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, a clash that their Rugby World Cup winning prop Ox Nche aptly described as a clash between “the French DNA and the Springbok DNA”.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks’ remaining game will be a trip to France against Bordeaux Begles, a much improved team on the one that the Durbanites edged in Bordeaux en route to making the quarter-final round two seasons ago. With so many experienced Boks in tow, the KwaZulu-Natalians can win against even the best teams on French soil – but they won’t be favourites. Which means a victory over the reigning champions is close to a non-negotiable.
The Durbanites are currently fourth in Pool 1 on five points, five behind the top placed French duo of Toulouse and Bordeaux, who both have full points, and one point behind Leicester Tigers. Exeter Chiefs and Ulster are both yet to register a point, and they both face tough games against Bordeaux and the Tigers respectively.
So even if they do lose, the Hollywoodbets Sharks could still be in the top four bracket in their pool that means round of 16 qualification after this round. It’s the knowledge of what comes next for them that makes a win so important.
While it isn’t quite a knock-out game for the Sharks, the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls are in a different situation. Defeat to the Sale Sharks in Cape Town will be the death-knell to any hopes the Stormers have of advancing, and ditto for the Vodacom Bulls in their visit to French club, Castres.
But given that the teams they are competing with for a place in the top four in their respective groups have to play each other, they do still stand more of a chance of advancing than might have been thought when they suffered comprehensive defeats in round two in December.
Of the two, the DHL Stormers arguably have the better chance of advancing just because they are at home against Sale and, given the momentum they picked up through two good Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby wins over Christmas, a full house of five log points is distinctly possible.
That will leave them knowing what to do when they visit Racing 92 for their last group game. If the DHL Stormers lose to Sale, that game will become a dead rubber, but a victory on Saturday will mean they go to France with everything on the line. With the game coming a week before the important Vodacom URC clash with Leinster in Dublin, the Cape side will also be able to treat their trip north as a proper tour.
The DHL Stormers are also benefited by the fact that the top team in their group, Toulon, only have eight points out of a possible 10, with Vodacom URC champions Glasgow Warriors bringing up second position. The two English clubs, Harlequins and Sale, are tied fourth with five points, with Racing 92 one point behind them.
Harlequins are away to Toulon on Sunday, which means one of those teams will be set back and become more vulnerable to the chasing pack, while Racing 92 will be in Glasgow on Friday night to kick off what should be an absorbing round of Champions Cup rugby.
From that it’s clear why the DHL Stormers have a chance, and they will be on the cusp of the top four, and round of 16 qualification, if they go for broke and win with a bonus point in Cape Town.
For the Vodacom Bulls, the immediate task is more difficult as they are away from home, but they can use as their motivation for their game against Castres the memory of how unlucky they were not to beat Lyon away from home with an understrength team last season.
If they do get across the line against Castres they are in the top four in Pool 3 and will have the carrot of knowing that a win over Stade Francais in their final group game at Loftus will be enough to secure them an advance.
Of course, they’ve left themselves well behind the eight ball when it comes to seedings in the first knock-out round. If they do get through, they will probably have to travel to Toulouse, Dublin or Bordeaux, but the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers both go into this penultimate round of the group phase seeing a potential shard of light at the end of the tunnel.
Pool 1 – Toulouse 10 pts, Bordeaux 10, Leicester Tigers 6, Hollywoodbets Sharks 5, Exeter Chiefs 0, Ulster 0.
Pool 2 – Stade Rochelais 9, Leinster 9, Clermont-Auvergne 5, Benetton 5, Bath 2, Bristol Bears 0.
Pool 3 – Northampton Saints 10, Saracens 9, Munster 6, Castres 4, Vodacom Bulls 0, Stade Francais 0.
Pool 4 – Toulon 8, Glasgow Warriors 7, Harlequins 5, Sale Sharks 5, Racing 92 4, DHL Stormers 0.
