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'South African rugby' warned of 'disastrous' scenario

By PA
Salmaan Moerat of DHL Stormers looks dejected as he walks through a guard of honour formed by players of Harlequins after defeat during the Investec Champions Cup match between Harlequins and DHL Stormers at The Stoop on December 14, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Stormers head coach John Dobson admits South Africa’s teams must start justifying their inclusion in the Investec Champions Cup – with help from tournament organisers.

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A grim day in the competition saw the Bulls humbled at Loftus Versfeld by Northampton while the under-strength Stormers and Sharks were crushed on the road at Harlequins and Leicester respectively. Between the three sides, 139 points were conceded.

Smaller squad sizes and gruelling travel demands are given as explanations for the under-performance of South African teams, who must also fly to Europe to play away games in the United Rugby Championship.

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Stormers playmaker Jean-Luc du Plessis on the belief in the Stormers squad ahead of the Harlequins clash

The Stormers have taken an under-strength team to London to counteract the logistical hurdle that the trip might pose to their important URC derby against the Lions in Cape Town the following week.

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Stormers playmaker Jean-Luc du Plessis on the belief in the Stormers squad ahead of the Harlequins clash

The Stormers have taken an under-strength team to London to counteract the logistical hurdle that the trip might pose to their important URC derby against the Lions in Cape Town the following week.

Dobson, who was missing seven Springboks due to injury including Manie Libbok, Damian Willemse and Frans Malherbe, believes a way to overcome the challenges must be found.

“As South Africans we have to be better. We are not disrespecting (the tournament), but we need to get ourselves into a better position,” Dobson said.

Investec Champions Cup

Pool 1
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Bordeaux
2
2
0
0
10
2
Leicester
2
1
1
0
6
3
Toulouse
1
1
0
0
5
4
Sharks
2
1
1
0
5
5
Exeter Chiefs
1
0
1
0
0
6
Ulster
2
0
2
0
0
Pool 2
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
La Rochelle
2
2
0
0
9
2
Leinster
2
2
0
0
9
3
Clermont
2
1
1
0
5
4
Bath
1
0
1
0
1
5
Benetton
1
0
1
0
0
6
Bristol
2
0
2
0
0
Pool 3
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Northampton
2
2
0
0
10
2
Munster
2
1
1
0
6
3
Saracens
1
1
0
0
5
4
Castres
2
1
1
0
4
5
Stade Francais
1
0
1
0
0
6
Bulls
2
0
2
0
0
Pool 4
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Harlequins
2
1
1
0
5
2
Glasgow
1
1
0
0
5
3
Sale
2
1
1
0
5
4
Toulon
1
1
0
0
4
5
Racing 92
2
1
1
0
4
6
Stormers
2
0
2
0
0

“I don’t know how we solve it. It’s like being invited to someone’s birthday party then complaining about the chips. We are so grateful to be here.

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“I see in January we play Leinster in the URC and then Racing. Is there a way to link them up on a tour? That would make it much more palatable.

“We could take our strongest team and play both games at full bore. It’s just this December fixture that has caught us in the last two years.

“For Leicester last season we’d left our whole squad in Cape Town. This was a little bit different. We really are thin. We had Manie down to play against Quins – we’d hoped to mix it up a bit more.

“We only voluntarily didn’t choose six for this game. The rest were injury problems. It’s not a good look, though. If we came to Harlequins at full-noise, that would have been a hell of a game.”

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Dobson insists the value of the Champions Cup to South Africa can not be overstated.

“We have to be part of this tournament because it’s such a high level and it’s such a great tournament,” he said

“And if we’re not careful, were we not to be part of the Champions Cup, and the URC morphed into an Anglo League and we went back to the Currie Cup of the 1980s where we were playing Griqualand West and Free State in dusty Kimberley, that would be disastrous for South African rugby.

“This competition is probably what has helped us so much in World Cups. Every breakdown is a competition. Every scrum is a 20-second contest. Every line-out or maul is a contest.

“That has been a massive boost for South African rugby, and we’ve got to make sure we can stay here, but evenings like this evening don’t help.”

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Comments

1 Comment
B
BB 2 hours ago

Nailed it Dobbo!...the problem is however how to solve the problem!...you still want to be invited in future to the party, after all one day you might just win a prize!

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JW 8 hours ago
‘The problem with this year’s Champions Cup? Too many English clubs’

Ah yes, I see how you've solved the WC available slots, until theyre filled. As said in my reply I don't know if sides want to be up there when they're not good enough, in regards to sides who do well in the middle teir and reach challenge cup knockouts etc. It's also a very messy approach if you ask me, I was barely able to understand it.


It's means you've thought from the top down, and I'd have a bottom up approach. So I think first about what is best for the teams at the bottom, instead of your above approach were you try to fit teams in at the top first.


You've miss understood. You have to set up the competition so that it is based on merit, not like what you've done b,y last years results of English performance as a 'snapshot' of what the future will be like; ie you've given all leagues equal numbers/representation, that is the wrong approach imo. The share should be performance based, and with far less random WC's.


Well that's where we'll have to disagree then, because imo it's a much better idea to give the leagues WC spots rather than the individual teams. I suppose it depends a lot on stability, for instance the 4 Challenge Cup teams you name Sharks and Benneton are in contention because they are at least earning it based on one years of results (this year, so far at least, and last years results, respectively), Clermont a little less so, but Gloucester should not be included based on last year if it's supposed to be a true elite competition and compete with Super Rugby.


Same goes with Exeter, they should not be their because they were part of the 2024 version. Are Gloucester doing well in the prem this year because theyre not worried about resting players for Champions Cup competition? Teams like Benneton get the WC spot for Sharks winning a european trophy, Connacht (I'm not sure I buy my example of giving URC more to start with so maybe this is like Irelands 2nd or 3rd best team in future occasions) as Irelands wildcard for winning the 6N, Castres are rewarded for the Top 14 providing last years champions, based on my example WC ideas. Stormers are included based on the bigger base URC gets, and La Rochelle (based on league) or Toulon (as the missed the top four by elimination game).


Some good English teams miss out but as I say you don't want to be chopping and changing the formats so it might work out in future or you simply start with 5 each and Bristol is is included in CC. Why would you want to give less consistent teams, ones that primarly do well in europe, preference?

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