MARK KEOHANE | Patience key as SA teams embark on fierce learning curve

Playing in Europe is not quite as simplistic as it first appeared for the South African teams, when compared to the nearly three decades of playing Super Rugby against teams from New Zealand, Australia and in the latter stages a team from Japan and Argentina. Logistically, it is proving even tougher.

The Stormers and Sharks both reached the last eight of last season’s Champions Cup, at their first attempt, and the Stormers went on to host the final of the United Rugby Championship. At the time, Stormers coach John Dobson knew it was some kind of achievement as he grappled with balancing the playing demands of both competitions and tried to run a Currie Cup campaign (with Western Province) as a parallel project. The latter proved the most unrelenting, with players in and out of two to three competitions, with all three competitions overlapping at some stage.

Leinster’s director of rugby Leo Cullen was vocal in his observations of the South African challenge in the opening season of the URC and said it would be very interesting to see how long it took South African teams to find that balance of twin campaigns once they started playing in Europe’s Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, as well as the URC.

Cullen was speaking from experience, in highlighting the demands of being successful in both an 18-round league that culminates with three play-off matches, and a European knockout competition staggered over six months, with pool matches and play-off matches separated by more than three months. He was honest about how long it took Leinster to find that balance. 

What works in January, does not necessarily work in April, and the form player may no longer be the form player. A team on top of their game in January may have fallen away because of injuries or away travel.

There are so many factors that make South Africa’s entry into European rugby three seasons ago a minefield, albeit it an ultimately rewarding challenge when those obvious landmines, like weather, travel and different playing surfaces, are negated.

For now, what ordinarily would have been a business class overnight or day flight, is a two-stop 20-plus hour flight in economy class.

It is a unique situation and South Africa’s quintet of teams will only get more competitive, the more they are exposed to these situations of having to play in one competition on a Saturday at home in 34°C and a week later having to play in a different competition, where the temperate high is 2°C.

Those teams from the north coming to South Africa are also in new territory this season because last season’s European pool rounds were reduced because of the World Cup. This season, it is all on for teams from France, England and the URC, in finding a sweet spot between the Top 14, Premiership and now travelling to South Africa as part of the European campaign.

Super Rugby travel was difficult for the South African teams because they invariably toured for a month and played four successive matches in New Zealand and Australia, with Japan and Argentina adding to the away travel. 

But it was just one flight, and the players flew business class.

Now, because of the early compromises and financial sacrifices that had to be made to get South Africa into the URC and Europe, the SA teams fly economy class and fly via Dubai and Doha because of a flight sponsorship deal with Qatar.

It is a reality at the moment and this is not a whine or an excuse-making column. It is one that wants to emphasise the enormity of what the players have to negotiate, until there is a straight flight from Cape Town to London and Johannesburg to London.

For now, what ordinarily would have been a business class overnight or day flight, is a two-stop 20-plus hour flight in economy class. This must be acknowledged as a factor, as many of the players are close to two metres tall. This will change, sooner rather than later, and the travel will become less of a burden because of direct flights, but what is the new normal is playing in two hemispheres, combating two very different weather patterns and coming to terms with 4G synthetic pitches on Saturday and a grass pitch six days later.

Squad depth is also significant, and coaches must mix and match to meet the playing schedules of both competitions, especially when prioritising the significance of matches.

It is why the Stormers and Lions have sent youthful teams to England and France, so that their strongest run-on XV is rested for the all-important first home matches that follow a week later.

The commercial gains of South Africa playing in Europe cannot be overstated, and it was the right decision for the financial future of the game in South Africa, but right now one can only have empathy for those pioneer players and coaches who are still on a voyage of discovery in playing all-year round, in several different competitions and in two different hemispheres.