Can a South African team win the United Rugby Championship?

The United Rugby Championship (URC) has continued to be a very interesting offering on the rugby calendar, with the best teams from Wales, Scotland and Ireland taking on four South African outfits in the Stormers, the Sharks, the Bulls and the Lions.

At the time of writing, Leinster top the Championship with 60 points, 10 clear of Ulster in second. Glasgow and Munster round off the top four, with three Irish and one Scottish side making up the top four places in the league.

In fifth and sixth is where the Stormers and Sharks find themselves, with the two sides seemingly South Africa’s best chance of lifting the trophy this year. Leading South African betting sites make them outsiders rather than frontrunners.

The Bulls sit in eighth and will sneak into the playoffs if they can keep this place out of the reach of the Scarlets, who sit in ninth, six points behind them, while the Lions sit in 12^th, 30 points short of leaders Leinster.

While the Bulls will likely be a part of the playoff segment, we do not think they will go very far in the competition as they have struggled to consistently win games, with eight victories coming alongside seven defeats.

It is worth noting that the 405 points they have scored has helped them to pick up seven try scoring bonus points, the joint second highest in the league, showing that they are no strangers to scoring points.

Indeed, a 55-20 win over the Scarlets was followed by a powerful 34-16 win over Ulster in their last two matches, and while the Bulls go into the latter stages of the competition as underdogs, if they are to lose, they will go down swinging.

Both the Sharks and the Stormers have been very impressive in the URC this season. The Stormers currently sit in fifth in the league with 47 points from their 15 games after winning nine, drawing two and losing four times. Meanwhile, the Sharks have picked up 46 points following nine wins, one draw and five losses.

Importantly for the Stormers and the Sharks, they have managed to avoid consistent defeats across the season. This will be invaluable across the playoffs as knockout rugby is often epitomised by teams not playing particularly well but ensuring they progress by grinding out results.

This is where a team like Leinster has made their name in recent years, with their sheer will to win regardless of how they are playing, something that has seen them dominate on the pitch.

The draw itself will also be important for each of the sides in the playoffs. Every outfit will want to avoid Leinster, hoping that another team will knock the league leaders out. Of course, not having to play against Leinster is wishful thinking, with the side in great form this year.

However, taking them on in a one-off final will likely be something the Stormers and Sharks would prefer to do, with major finals often seeing teams unable to hit the heights their regular season has provided.

This could allow one of the South African sides to claim an unlikely triumph in the Championship, with the Irish teams so far dominating the competition this year.

Finally, ensuring the penalty count is as low as possible will allow both the Stormers and the Sharks to excel. A team like Leinster, who pride themselves on their set pieces, will always be looking to grind out penalties across the park before kicking their opposition into submission from the kicking tee.

Ensuring there are no needless infringements will help to ensure the South African sides are able to force their opponents to go toe-to-toe with them in a physical game that the likes of the Stormers and the Sharks will relish.