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It was a disastrous weekend for the South African teams in round three of the Investec Champions Cup, as the Vodacom Bulls, Hollywoodbets Sharks, and Stormers were humiliated.
The Bulls suffered a 61-49 loss at the hands of Bristol Bears. The Sharks were beaten 26-10 by the Sale Sharks in London, while the Harlequins ran in nine tries to thump the Stormers 61-10 at The Stoop.
The results mean the Bulls and Sharks have a slight chance of qualifying for the playoffs depending on the outcome of several matches in their respective pools. The Stormers, meanwhile, need to beat Leicester next week to proceed to the last 16.
ATR looks back at the fixtures, and we identify three common trends in the team's performances.
Rudolph (13'), Jacobs (18', 27'), Penalty Try (37'), Kriel (43'), Klerk (72'), Roux (74')
Tries
Rensburg (2'), Lahiff (5'), Heward (7', 21', 40+1'), Ravouvou (15', 59'), Marmion (25'), Rubiolo (56')
Pollard (13', 19', 28', 44', 72', 74')
Conversions
Jordan (3', 6', 8', 15', 22', 25', 57', 60')
Defences in sixes and sevens:
The manner in which all three teams lost is concerning, but the respective coaches will be more troubled by their defensive efforts. The Bulls selected a full-strength team for the Bristol clash, while Stormers boss John Dobson made changes to his side and fielded a young, inexperienced squad in the name of building squad depth.
The two sides were awful defensively, to put it mildly. The Stormers, uncharacteristically, missed a whopping 40 tackles, while the Bulls looked like they were chasing shadows for majority of the match.
The Stormers were unbeaten in 10 matches leading up to the clash, and defence had been one of their strongest points this season. It was not much of a surprise from the Bulls, however. The Pretoria-based outfit has struggled all season in the defence department, and they’ve been forced to rope in Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones.
The Sharks, meanwhile, defended well in the first half but allowed Sale to run rampant in the second stanza and score 19 points, while the Durban side could only manage one try by Manu Tshituka.
Combined, the SA team conceded a staggering 148 points. The round exposed cracks in the team’s defensive structures, and it’s an area that needs addressing immediately.
Fringe players can’t compete in Europe:
Since joining the competition, the South African teams have been guilty of fielding weakened teams to cope with the demands of both the URC and Champions Cup.
After three seasons, it’s safe to say that this experiment has backfired, and instead, it’s made the teams look like they don’t value the competition.
Barring the Bulls, the Stormers and Sharks selected watered-down teams, and the gap between the inexperienced players and their full-strength counterparts was evident.
The Stormers seemed to have hit the nail on the head in the opening two rounds when they won both matches against Bayonne and La Rochelle with a younger team. This defeat, at the hands of Quins, feels like they’ve taken 10 steps backwards in a matter of weeks.
What’s clear is that the teams are still in a learning process, and juggling two competitions with the quality of fringe players available is proving tougher than many might have expected.
Lack of creativity:
Aside from being schooled, bullied, and made to look like boys, the SA teams also failed to give their fans glimmers of hope, and they created, with the ball in hand, very few chances.
The Bulls might have scored 49 points, but those tries were a result of poor defence by a Bristol side that started to wear down in the second half. The hosts weren’t at their best, and talisman Handre Pollard struggled to pull the strings.
The stats don’t lie; Pollard played the full 80 minutes and only had seven carries and made 38 metres. The flyhalf position is an area of concern for the Bulls with very little cover in the case of injury to Pollard or utility back Keegan Johannes. The Sharks, on the other hand, were woeful with their chances and had to defend for the majority of the match. Their general, Siya Masuku, was one-dimensional, and the experimental centre pairing of Jurenzo Julius and Francois Venter was a flop. Fullback Hakeem Kunene made the most metres in the backline with 91.
The Stormers were totally shut down, and it was skipper Damian Willemse who attempted to put his side on the front foot. They scored their points deep in the second half through Imad Khan and Dylan Maart. It was the first time this season that the Cape side looked clueless with ball in hand in the absence of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
