SA teams back in action in European Professional Club Rugby – all you need to know
From fixtures to records, here is all you need to know about SA teams in the Champions and Challenge cups.
South African teams kick off their European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) campaigns over the next two weekends, with Stormers, Bulls and Sharks competing in the Champions Cup and Lions and Cheetahs in the Challenge Cup.
They play two matches before returning to the United Rugby Championship for three fixtures, thereafter playing the last two EPCR pool matches in January.
SA teams triumph and fall
No South African team has progressed past the quarter-finals of the higher-tier Champions Cup since joining in the 2022/23 season.
In that year, the Sharks fell to Toulouse 54-20 and the Stormers lost to Exeter Chiefs 42-17 in the quarter-finals.
The next year, the Bulls lost to Northampton Saints 59-22 in the same play-offs.
Last season, all three teams crashed out of the pool stages – the Sharks, Bulls and Stormers each winning just one of four games before falling into the Challenge Cup.
The Sharks can boast that they are the only South African team to win the lower-tier tournament. They beat Gloucester 36–22 in the final in England to claim the 2023/24 title.
Otherwise, the Lions went as far in the round of 16 in 2023/24, losing 27-17 to Benetton.
Last year, the Lions lost their round-of-16 match 24-12 to Edinburgh, the Sharks fell 34-21 to Lyon at the same stage, and the Bulls were edged 34-28 by Edinburgh in the quarter-finals.
Bordeaux Bègles beat Northampton Saints 28-20 in last year’s Champions Cup final, while Bath beat Lyon in the Challenge Cup final.
Upcoming EPCR fixtures
Bulls (Champions Cup)
• Bordeaux Bègles at Loftus on December 6 (17:15)
• Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens on December 14 (17:15)
• Bristol Bears at Loftus on January 10 (15:00)
• Section Paloise at Stade du Hameau on January 16 (22:00)
Stormers (Champions Cup)
• Bayonne at Stade Jean Dauger on December 5 (22:00)
• La Rochelle at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on December 13 (15:00)
• Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop on January 11 (15:00)
• Leicester Tigers at Cape Town Stadium on January 17 (15:00)
Sharks (Champions Cup)
• Toulouse at Stade Ernest Wallon on December 7 (17:15)
• Saracens at Kings Park on December 13 (17:15)
• Sale Sharks at CorpAcq Stadium on January 10 (19:30)
• Clermont Auvergne at Kings Park on January 17 (15:00)
Lions (Challenge Cup)
• Benetton at Ellis Park on December 6 (15:00)
• Newcastle at Kingston Park on December 13 (19:30)
• Lyon at Ellis Park on January 10 (17:15)
• Perpignan at Stade Aime Giral on January 17 (19:30)
Cheetahs (Challenge Cup)
• Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park on December 7 (19:30)
• Stade Français at NRCA Stadium on December 13 (15:00)
• Ulster at NRCA Stadium on January 11 (17:15)
• Racing 92 at Paris La Defense Arena on January 18 (19:30)
This article was first published by The Citizen.
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