There is prestige in winning the Challenge Cup title and the bonus for South Africa’s Sharks is automatic qualification into the top-tier Champions Cup for next season.
The Sharks, buried in their United Rugby Championship play-off aspirations because of a shocking first half of the league season, have prioritised the Challenge Cup. They play at home in the quarterfinal against Scotland’s Edinburgh, who they beat in the URC a few weeks ago, and defeat would confirm the season as a disaster.
The Challenge Cup is the pot of gold that will define the Sharks this season. They win this weekend, and they play away in the semifinal. They win that, and they play the final at a neutral venue, the home of English Premier League side Spurs. In the semifinal and final they get a split share of the gate, which is a big chunk when Euros are converted to South African rand.
Edinburgh are a good side, but they are a team that should not threaten the recent resurgence of the Sharks in Durban.
It is never easy playing Edinburgh, but there is just too much in this game for the Sharks to lose. Edinburgh, consistent in the URC, know that they can still turn hope into glory in the URC, make the top eight and qualify for the Champions Cup and possibly even win the URC title.
For the Sharks, it is the Challenge Cup or absolutely nothing.
To quote Eben Etzebeth, the Sharks players know they have a backdoor into next season’s Champions Cup, and it is one they plan to use.
Jake White’s Bulls will have a very different mindset in playing away to Northampton Saints in a Champions Cup quarterfinal, which is why the veteran coach may juggle selections knowing he is not just preparing for this weekend’s match but also next weekend’s hosting of Munster in Pretoria in the URC.
Leinster’s director of rugby Leo Cullen, after season one of the URC, said the fact that South Africa’s league quartet had not played in the Champions Cup or Challenge Cup that season was an advantage. He added the biggest challenge for South Africa’s four URC teams would be how they managed to balance the demands of two competitions that coexist in a season.
Leinster, comfortably the most consistent and powerful club in Europe, in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons lost both URC semifinals at home, as they rested several Test players for the more demanding Champions Cup final a week later. On both occasions they lost to France’s La Rochelle in the final, with last season’s defeat coming at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
It is this balancing act that White will have had to dissect in his selections. He must surely believe his Bulls have a greater chance of winning the URC, especially if the final is played in Pretoria, than winning three successive Champions Cup play-off matches overseas, the first of which is against Northampton Saints on Saturday. The Champions Cup then breaks, the URC takes priority, and the Champions Cup semifinal is played in the first week of May and the final on May 25. In between those two dates it is the URC’s final league stages, with the URC play-offs climaxing with a June 22 final.
I found the schedule exhausting to write, so spare a thought for those who must play and navigate it, especially if it involves South African teams and 28-hour flights up north, via the United Arab Emirates.
This is the short-term financial and player pain for the South African teams who had to pay for the right to play in these competitions for three years and can only become full members of Champions Cup and Challenge Cup competitions in the 2026/27 season.
It would have been a case of sink or swim for White’s Bulls if their season was to be defined by the Champions Cup, and realistically it is more a case of sink on Saturday to swim for the rest of the URC season.
I have the Saints to win because they are playing at home, and I have the Sharks to win because they are at home. I also have the Bulls to feel they will be winners, even in defeat.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.