Stormers and Sharks in desperate scramble

They have to weigh up Champions Cup activity against their URC challenge

14 January 2025 - 15:49
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Stormers director of rugby John Dobson.
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson.
Image: Steve Haag (Gallo Images)

Unable to secure a spot high enough in the seeding to earn a home round of 16 clash, the Sharks and the Stormers will have to weigh their priorities as they go into the final round of pool action in the Champions Cup this weekend.

Winning away from home, especially on the other side of the equator, will be a daunting prospect for both teams, leaving John Plumtree and John Dobson to ponder what effect that may have on their challenge for United Rugby Championship (URC) honours.

The Stormers may have greater incentive than the Sharks. Should the Stormers find a way into the round of 16 they will be away to one of the top-ranked teams in the second week of April.

As it turns out, they are away to Ulster in a Friday night fixture a week earlier, while two weeks separate the round of 16 clashes and the next round of the URC. They should have a full week to prepare and they will have time to recover after a potential knockout match.

The Sharks, however, have to contend with Leinster in the URC in Durban the week before the start of the knockout rounds of the Champions Cup.

Before concerning themselves too much about the knockouts, both teams have significant hurdles to overcome this weekend.

Plumtree, the Sharks coach, is taking a team sans some of their biggest stars due to injury to Europe to face Bordeaux-Begles, while Dobson (director of rugby of the Stormers) has a realistic view of where his team may end up in this season's Champions Cup before their trip to Racing 92.

Overall, there is much at stake in the final round with top seeding, home knockout spots, final qualification places and EPCR Challenge Cup round of 16 qualification all up for grabs.

The Sharks may be fourth in their pool but they still have a chance to make it through. The seeding for the knockouts is based on the total amount of points across all pools and the top two teams in each pool secure a home tie in the round of 16, while the fifth-placed team progress to the EPCR Challenge Cup knockouts.

As things stand the Sharks' opponents this week, Bordeaux-Begles, top their pool with Toulouse, the team who vanquished them in Durban, second, while Leicester Tigers are third. All three have already qualified for the round of 16. The Sharks will hope Bordeaux will take their foot off the pedal and rest key players in preparation for their top 14 engagement against 10th placed Lyon Saturday week.

Though the Champions Cup is the most prestigious in European club rugby, the top 14 is by some distance the most commercially successful domestic league in the world.

The Bordeaux club has not won the top 14 crown since they were founded after the amalgamation of Stade Bordelais and CA Bordeaux-Begles in 2006.

From a Champions Cup perspective they have much to play for. The higher their seeding for the later rounds the easier their draw with home ground advantage, crucial in the two knockout rounds preceding the final. If they can stay ahead of Toulouse they will be in prime position.

The Sharks are beset with injuries and will have to punch above their weight to earn qualification. Victory without a bonus point will get them to nine log points but they will still be in a desperate scramble for a place in the knockout rounds with major contenders likely to emerge from pool 2 where Bath, Benetton (both seven points), Clermont and Bristol Bears (both five points) all harbour aspirations of qualification behind Leinster (13 points), while Stade Rochelais (10) are on the cusp.

Castres and Stade Francais are their potential hurdles from pool 3 with nine and five log points respectively.

In pool 4 Toulon (13) and Glasgow Warriors (12) are already through, while a strong finish for Harlequins, the Stormers and Sale Sharks (all five points) could earn them a spot.

The Bulls, who lost for a third time in the competition last weekend, are out of the running.


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