The South African team’s record so far in this year’s Investec Champions Cup does not make for good reading.
Both the Sharks and Stormers have played six games and have only one win. Although they were a weakened team, they scored over 50 points over the weekend.
An opening win over Exeter Chiefs has kept the Sharks alive in the competition, but it now looks unlikely that the winless Stormers or Bulls will progress to the knockout stages.
fixture
united rugby championship
Stormer
lions
This does not sit well with former South African coach Nick Mallett or former Springbok Robbie Fleck.
The pair join forces for an upcoming episode of RugbyPass TV. Vox Office This week he expressed his disappointment with South Africa’s qualification for the Champions Cup.
fixture
united rugby championship
shark
bulls
Both see the Cup as club rugby’s premier competition and believe South African teams should strive to win it rather than the United Rugby Championship. But they recognize that there are limiting factors.
With South African international players having no time to rest, Mallett and Fleck understand why the team would take the opportunity to rest the Springboks over the weekend as the club may not necessarily have the budget to compete with Europe’s best. With the South African derby taking up a high priority in the coming weeks, winning the Champions Cup has become more important than making a positive impression.
There still remains hope that there will be a change in the franchise’s focus on competition.
Mallett was also critical of the way the Sharks and Stormers approached their contests with Leicester Tigers and Harlequins, saying the depleted outfit could still “lose with dignity”.
“There is a way to play to defend points and both the Sharks and Stormers sent teams that had no chance of winning,” said the former South African and Italian coach.
“If the odds of winning are low, you have to give them a way to defeat with confidence. The way they played, both the Sharks and Stormers were brainless. You can’t run the ball against a team that is much better than you at running the ball. That’s what they want. Harlequins wanted the Stormers to run the ball. They are playing against an inexperienced team and they made a lot of mistakes. The Stormers and Quins have 50 points. This is exactly what the Sharks did against Leicester.
“What you have to do is take a young team and we will make sure we are within 10 points of this. We’re going to play a kick game. We will put pressure on you. We’re not going to run the ball. It will be a box kick at 9 and 10 o’clock. We will play defense. If we see your face, we will hit you hard, and you will use the negative methods of the Northern Hemisphere. We didn’t see it. We haven’t seen anything like that from either of those teams.
“You can actually coach a much weaker team and get good results, but if you get the Springboks you have to go to Toulouse and say, ‘We’re coming here to beat you guys.’
“We have to win our home games to make the local fans happy. Your tendency is to focus on URC. This competition will allow you to know your participation after the first weekend. The Stormers will not be involved beyond the next two games.
“When you have a situation where John Dobson (Stormers manager) has lost nine or 10 Springbok players who would have all started in a Champions Cup home game if he had had the choice, you have to cut back on games. Wear the coat according to the fabric. Unfortunately, now they have to get their best players for Saturday’s game against the Lions. They need to win the Lions game. So half the players who would normally play against Harlequins were left to beat the Lions so he could make the owners and the public happy. So it’s always a juggling act.
“If our Springboks can’t be fit and strong for these Champions Cup games and showcase their talent at URC, we won’t get the right results. You can’t have 13 games at the level the Springboks play at all year, and then only play six more. Give Eben Etzebeth a cap of 21, 22 games and then pick him for the Champions Cup games. Head out on a springbok tour. “Don’t play URC games.”
