Not just the Bulls flying SA’s flag in the EPCR quarterfinals

The Bulls are the only remaining South African team as the EPCR competitions reach the quarterfinal stage this weekend but the country is still well represented in the coaches' boxes.

Johann van Graan (Bath), Franco Smith (Glasgow Warriors) and Sean Everitt (Edinburgh) have also maintained a South African flavour along with Bulls director of rugby Jake White.

Having left Munster, Van Graan took over the coaching reins at Bath at a particularly difficult time for the revered club. Van Graan did not mince his words upon zipping up his track suit. He described Bath as “broken as a club” but he quickly gained the trust of his board as he explained on the To The Last Drop podcast.

Gaining the trust of the board has enabled him to vigorously set about re-energising the club. They showed immediate improvement and edged into the top eight of the Premiership on the last day of league action in his maiden season.

The next year Bath reached the knock-out stages of the Champions Cup for the first time since 2015 and they went on to achieve their highest finish in the Premiership when they finished second the same year. His side lost to Northampton in the 2023/2024 Premiership final.

Last month Bath ended a 17-year trophy drought when they won the Premiership Rugby Cup, beating Exeter away from home at Sandy Park.

Bath are runaway leaders in the Premiership and enjoy a 10-point lead over second-placed Bristol having won 11 of their 13 matches thus far.

Beating Gloucester in the Challenge Cup will put the rest of the competition on notice this weekend.

Everitt was absorbed into the Bulls' structures after he left the Sharks in 2022. He coached the Currie Cup team in Pretoria before taking up the opportunity to coach Edinburgh after the departure of Mike Blair in 2023.

The Bulls play Edinburgh at the Hive Stadium this weekend and White will be all too aware of Everitt's intimate knowledge of the blue team's playing ranks and what makes them tick.

In the franchises' six matches against each other honours are even, with the Bulls this weekend hoping to be the first to record an away win.

Edinburgh also reached the quarterfinals last season but missed out 36-30 in Durban. Despite a fast finish Everitt could not get one over his former employers.

This year he has another crack albeit against his most recent paymasters after they downed the Lions at Hive Stadium last Friday.

Their season is tantalisingly poised with a potential semifinal in the making against Bath should they down the Bulls. They are eighth on the United Rugby Championship (URC) log.

After a sluggish start to the season Edinburgh have improved and the reintegration of Six Nations players has made them far more formidable.

Worldly in his approach but fastidious in his coaching philosophy and methods, Smith is proving one of South Africa's finest coaching exports.

He has done a superb job in transforming Glasgow Warriors from mid-table plodders to genuine contenders in the URC, as well as the top table of European rugby.

Apart from instilling a pragmatic and robust battle plan, he has instilled belief in his players. Smith is on record with this writer suggesting Scottish players had for too long lacked belief when faced with crunch moments in big games. It proved a psychological barrier but the coach delighted in the fruits of his labour when he masterminded their stunning win over the Bulls in last season's URC final at Loftus Versfeld.

The Warriors are redoubtable opponents and this week they will need to display all their fighting spirit. They face close to the ultimate Champions Cup Test when they take on Leinster in Dublin on Saturday.

It will be a proper test of their Champions Cup credentials. Few teams leave Dublin victorious, but thanks to their coach one thing the Warriors are unlikely to be going into this clash is daunted.

Champions Cup quarterfinals

SA times

Friday:

• Leinster v Glasgow Warriors (9pm)

Saturday:

• Union Bordeaux-Bègles v Munster (4pm)
• Northampton Saints v Castres Olympique (6.30pm)

Sunday:

• Toulon v Stade Toulousain (4pm)

EPCR Challenge Cup quarterfinals

SA times

Saturday:

• Edinburgh v Bulls (1.30pm)
• Ospreys v Lyon OU (6.30pm)
• Connacht v Racing 92 (9pm)

Sunday:

• Bath v Gloucester (6.30pm)