SA teams taking a pounding but must dig in heels in the Champions Cup

South African teams' Champions Cup entry initially drew some sharp criticism. Those voices have slowly dissipated, but more recently the rules of engagement for this country's teams campaigning in Europe's premier competition have been questioned from closer to home.

Poor results, especially on the road, have put into sharp focus how South African rugby spreads its time and resources and whether it is in its best interests to see teams from the country that have won the last two Rugby World Cups routinely lose in Europe.

Sure, there are logistical challenges like a congested fixture list and extended travel times which help fuel the player welfare debate, but on the face of it, the grumblings largely centre on the European assignment being too difficult.

Since their introduction to Champions Cup rugby the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers have collectively played 17 away matches. They have won just four. The Stormers met success at Stade Francais and London Irish, the Sharks once got the Bordelais to weep into their wine, while the Bulls made Bristol Bears' fans do the same to their porridge.

The passage of time, Sharks coach John Plumtree argued in the wake of his team's 20-8 defeat at the hands of Toulouse in Durban last weekend, will be to the South African teams' benefit. He believes they will get better at it.

For the moment, however, coaches have to deal with their current realities.

In the knowledge that they don't possess the squad depth to compete with the best in Europe, franchise coaches have at times opted to cut their losses and prioritise the more winnable United Rugby Championship.

Player fatigue and injuries of course play their part, but the men at the head of the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers are realists when they see an away trip to a highly ranked team in the round of 16 or quarterfinals in the Champions Cup.

However, what should drive debate isn't so much whether South African teams should be playing in the Champions Cup, as how can they do so most effectively.

A more forgiving playing roster will help ease the burden, but that is unlikely to be adequately addressed in the absence of a global season. Regrettably, like peace in the Middle East, a global season is much talked about and desired, but exasperatingly elusive.

Until then playing in the Champions Cup ticks all the right boxes for the elite game in this country. The top players are exposed to their ilk, are tested in foreign conditions, have to come to grips with a variety of opposing coaching strategies, all while maintaining physical fitness and mental vitality.

It is surely in the interest of Springbok rugby for the top players to be tested against the best in Europe, as it was for this country's elite when they squared up to New Zealand's best in Super Rugby.

Though the spectre of battle fatigue can be reduced, the benefits of playing in Europe are myriad.

Playing in a favourable time zone helps offset some of the travel fatigue, but the most obvious benefit is to the tournament organisers' cash register.

An in-sync time zone helps grow a television, or multi screen, audience. Earnings from sports broadcast rights may be in global decline, but it still contributes a significant percentage of rugby's revenues.

It still costs a pretty penny for South Africa's teams to play in the northern hemisphere (at last count in 2022 it totalled R330m) but that burden will be eased when SA Rugby become competition shareholders later this year.

They will make a significant saving from next year, but there is also something in it for the teams chasing glory in the Champions Cup. Winning the Champions Cup will earn a club €1m (R19.4m). That represents more or less a quarter of a top South African franchise's annual salary budget.

Should South African teams quit the Champions Cup it will be tantamount to isolationist back tracking. Failure to play against the best did not serve South African rugby well during prolonged sporting isolation and the same peril holds true today.