The Investec Champions Cup has reached a boiling point, as the pool stages concluded dramatically over the past weekend.
The Investec Champions Cup has reached a boiling point, as the pool stages concluded dramatically over the past weekend.
The round of 16 fixtures have been confirmed, and there are some sizzling showdowns as the road to Bilbao in May intensifies.
The South African teams—the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls, and Hollywoodbets Sharks—recorded a bag of mixed results in the pool stages. It’s the Stormers and Bulls who have progressed to the next round, while the Sharks dropped down to the EPCR Challenge Cup.
ATR takes a look back at the team’s performances and what’s to come. We also rate them out of 10.
Roos (7'), Venter (15'), Zas (48'), Schickerling (66'), Khan (81')
Tries
Pearson (22'), Wand (26'), Blamire (44'), Manz (72')
Feinberg-Mngomezulu (7', 49', 82'), Khan (67')
Conversions
Searle (23', 26', 45')
Feinberg-Mngomezulu (40+1'), Khan (71')
Penalties
Stormers led the pack brilliantly:
“Innovative and unorthodox” are the terms to best describe the Stormers in this year’s pool stages of the Champions Cup.
Head coach John Dobson laid his cards on the table from the onset in terms of what they wanted to achieve in this year’s competition.
Building squad depth, while remaining competitive, was the main item on the agenda. It’s safe to say that the Stormers fulfilled their agenda, and apart from that humiliating 61-10 loss against the Harlequins, they were magnificent.
Dobson has used a whopping 41 players between the Champions Cup and URC. He has adopted a similar strategy to that of Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus, which has brought enormous success to the national side.
He blended youth and experience for large parts of their campaign, and that paid dividends in the final pool match against the Leicester Tigers in Cape Town.
That nervy 39-26 victory under the captaincy of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu secured a playoff spot for the side. They finished third in the pool and will face Toulon away from home in April.
The Stormers improved drastically from last season’s campaign, and for that, they get an 8/10.
Bulls show positive signs late on:
The scenes and celebrations after the Bulls narrowly defeated Pau in France said it all.
Johan Ackermann and his troops were desperate for a victory and eager to break their seven-match losing streak. It was a gritty performance coupled with sprinkles of individual brilliance as the visitors came from behind to sneak the two-point win.
The ability to show fight and character has been lacking in the Bulls' arsenal this season. They’ve been outplayed, outsmarted and dominated in all their Champions Cup fixtures.
Hefty losses against Northampton Saints, defending champions, Bordeaux, and the Bristol Bears added more pressure to a sinking ship that was losing control under Ackermann.
Progressing to the next round with just one victory in four matches is truly a blessing for the Bulls. They needed to win their clash against Pau and hope that Saints would do them a favour by beating the Scarlets. The English club delivered and thumped the Scarlets 43-28.
That secured an unexpected playoff spot for Ackermann’s side, and they’ll travel to Scotland to face Glasgow in the round of 16. The Bulls could be turning a new leaf, but their performances in the campaign leave much to be desired. They get a 4/10.
Sharks were just not good enough:
The Sharks left it too late, and their dominant performance, which saw them thump Clermont 50-12 in the final round, was in vain.
It was the first time in a while in the competition where the Sharks looked like a proper outfit, in sync, and dominant from the first whistle to the last.
They had just won a single game against Saracens heading into the round and suffered defeats against the Sale Sharks and French giants, Toulouse.
The Durban outfit needed a miracle to progress to the last 16, and that involved Sale beating Toulouse away from home. It wasn’t to be, as the French outfit thumped the English club 77-7 to place the Sharks in fifth place and send them to the Challenge Cup.
The second tier of European rugby is a competition the Sharks have won before, after beating Gloucester in 2024. JP Pietersen and his guns will fancy their chances to go far in the tournament.
As for their Champions Cup campaign, it was below par and unconvincing, but for the two wins, they’ll get a 5/10.
