CHAMPIONS CUP: Stormers best placed but Sharks and Bulls still very much alive

The DHL Stormers have the best chance of being the South African flag-bearers in the Investec Champions Cup play-off rounds but the Hollywoodbets Sharks and even the Vodacom Bulls still have a chance of ensuring there are three local teams in the round of 16 to be played in April.

The elite European competition goes beyond the halfway point of the pool stage when round three is played this coming weekend, and the Stormers, who are unbeaten across both competitions they compete in so far this season, are arguably poised to go where no local team has gone before following home and away wins in the first two rounds.

However, while the Sharks have only won one game and the Bulls are winless, both can ensure an improvement on last season’s poor performance of SA teams in the competition by advancing beyond the pool phase. Last year, no local team managed to make it to the round of 16, with the Stormers dropping out completely and the Bulls and Sharks dropping to the EPCR Challenge Cup.

Last year was a bit of an anomaly as South African teams have gone as far as the quarterfinal round before - the Stormers and Sharks in 2022/23 and the Bulls in 2023/24 - but haven’t gone beyond that as none have managed to avoid having to travel when reaching the last eight.

STORMERS IN POUND SEATS IF THEY WIN BOTH GAMES

The Stormers were well beaten in their previous quarterfinal appearance by Exeter Chiefs, but they had to travel to Sandy Park for that game. Securing a home quarterfinal will be that much easier this time around should they finish in the top of their pool (pool 3), with a high seeding heading into the play-off rounds likely if they build on the momentum over the remaining two games that they created for themselves in beating Bayonne away and then La Rochelle at home in December.

Their director of rugby John Dobson reckons his team can keep themselves in the pound seats if they get six points from their remaining two fixtures, which is why he said that a minimum of a losing bonus point is necessary from Sunday’s away clash with Harlequins at The Twickenham Stoop.

The pressure will then be on to get full points off Leicester Tigers at the DHL Stadium the following week, but the Stormers could make it easier for themselves by winning in London on Sunday. Dobson has said that is the aim and while the team that faces Harlequins won’t be at full strength, Dobson is confident it will be strong enough to challenge for the win.

It sounds like Warrick Gelant and Damian Willemse will be part of the backline, Jurie Matthee has excelled in overseas games for the Stormers this season and is suited to northern conditions, while there is plenty of forward depth at the Stormers currently. The reason not all the top players will be in action is because the Leicester game is played just six days later, meaning a short turnaround, while Leicester will have a seven day turnaround as they face Bayonne on Saturday night.

ALL LOCAL TEAMS SHOULD BE COMPETITIVE IN REMAINING FIXTURES

Given that there may not be much difference between a full strength Stormers team and an under-strength one, the remaining games in the pool phase could see a rare situation of SA teams being competitive in all games across both weekends.

The Sharks can secure a home round-of-16 game if they beat their English namesakes, the Sale Sharks, away on Saturday night and then beat Clermont-Auvergne, the team they beat in the semifinal of the EPCR Challenge Cup two seasons ago, at Hollywoodbets Kings Park the following week.

The Sharks lost to the Lions in the Vodacom URC last weekend but derbies are unpredictable and several Sharks Springboks are starting to find their feet after coming back from injury. They do have a chance of winning both games if, as expected, they go full-strength.

BULLS’ LAST 16 CHANCE IS A VERY REALISTIC ONE

The Bulls are fifth in Pool 4 which on the face of it suggests they only have an outside chance of getting out of their group following a defeat at home to champions Bordeaux and away to last year’s beaten finalists Northampton Saints, but that is not the reality if you look at the other team that is competing with them for a top four spot in the group.

Bulls coach Johan Ackermann told the post-match press conference following his team’s tight 13-8 defeat to the Stormers in Cape Town last week that he will be going full strength in both remaining games.

While he knows that his team are almost certain to travel if they do make it to the last 16, after six consecutive losses, momentum needs to be built if his squad is to make a fist of their challenge when the URC returns.

The Bulls were losing finalists in the last two seasons of the URC and will need to go deep in that competition if their campaign is not to be seen as a big step backwards following the off-season departure of Jake White.

The Bulls are currently eight points adrift of the third placed Bristol Bears in pool 4 and behind fourth-placed Scarlets on points differential. The Bulls are a better team than Scarlets, who foot the URC log, and should have a good chance of pipping them into the top four, but they will be under pressure to beat Bristol in Pretoria at the weekend before rounding off against Pau in France the following week.

The Bulls, like the Stormers were ahead of their round 1 game in Bayonne, are helped a bit by the fact that their away Champions Cup game is within a week of an overseas URC game - they play Edinburgh in Edinburgh the Friday after the Pau game. In the Stormers’ case, they went to France the week after their URC win over Munster in Ireland.

WHERE SA TEAMS STAND HALFWAY THROUGH POOL PHASE (top 4 in Pool advance to last 16)

Hollywoodbets Sharks

Placing: Fifth in Pool 1 on 5 points.

Teams ahead of them: Glasgow on 10, Saracens, Toulouse and Sale all on 6.

Team behind them: Clermont Auvergne on 0 points

What they need to do: One win in mix for top 16, two could secure home playoff.

DHL Stormers

Placing: First in Pool 3 on 9 points

No team ahead of them.

Teams behind them: Leinster also 9 points, Harlequins 6, La Rochelle 5, Leicester, Bayonne 0.

What they need to do: One win will ensure last 16, 6 points for home advantage.

Vodacom Bulls