Rude awakening for all SA rugby franchises in Europe
Irish powerhouse Leinster gave the Bulls a proper welcome to Northern Hemisphere rugby when they won their United Rugby Championship opener convincingly at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
The four South African sides in the new United Rugby Championship were given a baptism of fire on the opening weekend of the new competition, with only the Lions getting a victory in the Northern Hemisphere.
The men from Johannesburg were up first and cruised to a big lead before their opponents, Italian club Zebre, launched a second-half comeback, but the Emirates Lions had enough points in the bank to get the win (38-26), with Rabz Maxwane scoring two of their five tries.
Saturday’s three matches involving the Stormers, Bulls and Sharks were tough for the South Africans though.
The Capetonians appeared to be in control against Benetton, but a late flurry by the Italian side – winners of the Rainbow Cup earlier this year – saw the Stormers leave Treviso with only a losing bonus point (22-18).
The Bulls and Sharks were up against Leinster and Munster, and experienced first-hand how tough these Irish giants are, conceding 10 tries between them.
Photo: Bulls
The men from Pretoria conceded four tries and failed to score in Dublin (31-3), while the KwaZulu-Natalians were punished in Dublin (42-17).
Marcell Coetzee and his men were probably better than the three points they scored during the game, but unforced mistakes, handling errors, a misfiring lineout and defensive lapses cost them dearly against the most successful side in the history of the competition.
Leinster and Munster top the log after the first rounds of action, with the Emirates Lions in third place – all of them as well as Cardiff, Ulster and Edinburgh – on five points. The Stormers are 10th, with one log points, while the Sharks (15th) and Bulls (16th) prop up the standings.
Next weekend, the Bulls travel east to Galway where they face Connacht on Friday night, while the Lions are in action at the same time against the Scarlets in Llanelli in Wales.
The Sharks face Scottish club Glasgow Warriors on Saturday afternoon, before the Stormers take on Munster in Limerick later that evening.
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