The Stormers and Bulls will be pleased with solid performances first up, while the Sharks and Lions have plenty of work to do.
The Stormers and Bulls got their United Rugby Championship (URC) campaigns off to the perfect start with bonus point home wins, while the Sharks and Lions suffered chastening defeats on the road, after the opening weekend of action of the 2025-26 season.
Undoubtedly the team of the weekend was the Stormers, whitewashing defending champs Leinster 35-0 in a brutal display at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday night, in a game that had originally been expected to be a lot closer.
The Bulls also flexed their muscles at Loftus, after being surprised by Ospreys, which saw them trailing at halftime, they turned it on in the second half to power away to a comfortable 53-40 win.
For the Sharks and Lions it was bitterly disappointing as the Durban side slipped to a 35-19 defeat to Glasgow Warriors in Scotland, while the Highveld team were put away 33-20 by Cardiff in Wales.
Statement performance
In the opening match of the competition in Cape Town the Stormers produced a statement performance that they are seriously targeting a top four run in the URC this season.
After winning the URC in their debut campaign, and hosting the final in their second, the Stormers have struggled a bit in the past two seasons, with them just making the top eight in both, leading to them being dumped out in the quarterfinals.
In the build-up Director of Rugby John Dobson highlighted the importance of beating Leinster and getting off to a good start, in their quest for a place in the top four to give themselves a better chance come the end of season playoffs.
And so they did as they shook off some rust, after only leading 6-0 at halftime having missed a few chances, to dominate the second half with four tries, and to impressively keep Leinster scoreless.
The Irish giants were as usual not at full strength on their tour of SA, but neither were the Stormers who were missing their Springbok stars, as well as a number of front line players due to injury.
New dawn
It was a new dawn for the Bulls, under the direction of new head coach Johan Ackermann, and they initially showed some nerves against Ospreys, who they were expected to beat comfortably.
They allowed the visitors to get off to a fast start with two early tries, and trailed 26-19 at the break, before a superb second half powered them away to a solid win, with the Welsh visitors scoring after the fulltime hooter to make the scoreline look a little more respectable.
The Sharks and Lions will both be upset with their showings, not only due to being beaten, but also for not finishing within range to pick up a losing bonus point, which could become crucial as the season progresses.
For the Sharks they were firmly in the hunt against Glasgow, trailing 21-19 with 12 minutes remaining, only for a late show from the hosts to secure a good win.
The Lions were poor in their defeat against Cardiff, as they were unable to take advantage of a 20 minute red card to the hosts Ben Thomas, and despite leading 20-14 after 48 minutes, as they allowed the Welsh side to run in three unanswered tries over the rest of the half.
The Stormers and Bulls now swap opponents, as Ospreys head down to Cape Town and Leinster up to Pretoria, while the Sharks are up against Dragons in Wales and the Lions take on Zebre in Italy, in the second weekend of URC action.
