Hits & misses: Breakthrough youngsters and wasteful Stormers

OPINION: After a hotly contested Race to the Eight, the quarterfinal fixtures are set, with the Stormers taking on Cardiff in Cape Town in a rematch of their Round 18 United Rugby Championship encounter, the Lions going up against Leinster in Dublin, and the Bulls hosting Munster in Pretoria.

While the Stormers and the Lions fell short in their respective matches against Cardiff and Munster, the Bulls and the Sharks dismantled Benetton and Zebre.

With very different results and performances produced in the final round of regular-season matches by the South African sides, we look at the good and the bad from the weekend’s URC.

Continues below…

Hits:

South Africa’s play-off representation

Regardless of how it happened and what could have been done better, having three teams in the last eight will always be an achievement, especially considering that two of the three – the Bulls and the Stormers – ended in the top four.

There has been just one season, the 2023/24 edition, where South Africa had only two teams progress to the play-offs, with both the Lions and the Sharks missing out that year.

The Sharks miss out this time around after finishing 10th in the standings with 46 points and just eight wins recorded.

Lions’ maiden URC play-off berth

The Lions may have missed out on a strong finish to the league phase after suffering a 17-24 defeat to Munster in Limerick on Saturday night, but they made history nonetheless as they prepare to play in their first-ever URC play-off after finishing seventh.

How they got here is just as laudable as the feat itself; their season resume includes some impressive feats.

Not only did the Lions make the most of their block of six home matches earlier this season, winning every one of those fixtures at Ellis Park as they made statements against the Sharks, the Stormers, Edinburgh, the Dragons, Glasgow Warriors, and Connacht, but the results of their final two matches in Europe against Leinster and Munster were only determined late in those games.

This year, Ivan van Rooyen’s crew won the South African Shield for the first time, and their historic top-eight finish has also earned them Champions Cup qualification for next season.

For a team that has only really been known for their attacking rugby in recent years, the Lions are perhaps the biggest success story of the season in a South African context so far.

Furthermore, the all-round edge they’ve added to their game, which has seen their set-piece and defence take a major step-up, has seen the Lions become a transformed team.

*Also read: Stormers: From SA’s best bet for URC glory to biggest question mark

Emergence of young talent

The Sharks have led the charge in this department this season, with the likes of Zekhethelo Siyaya, Luan Giliomee, Vusi Moyo, and Jaco Williams headlining the crop of crisp, fresh talent JP Pietersen has deployed in the URC this season.

They have been appetising to watch, even more so when they did well to handle the pressure of senior rugby.

The above sentence cannot be read without thinking of Siyaya and how he stepped up at flyhalf for the first time against Benetton in the penultimate round after making his debut for the Sharks against the Ospreys earlier in the season.

Pietersen also showed that his backing of youngsters wasn’t just talk when he unleashed Giliomee against Munster, a clash that was vital to keep their play-off hopes alive.

Moyo became the latest Sharks rookie to impress as he showed proper control in the way he directed play at No 10 in their 54-19 thumping of Zebre at the weekend.

Down in the Cape, John Dobson gave schoolboy sensation Markus Muller a go against Glasgow Warriors, which saw him become the youngest player ever to debut for the Stormers.

Cheswill Jooste has also set the field alight in his cameos for the Bulls.

One thing that hasn’t been a scarcity this season is young South African talent.

Misses:

Wasteful Stormers

The Stormers finished third at the conclusion of the URC league stage, but it’s no secret that they hoped to host a series of play-offs in Cape Town.

Had they not imploded against Cardiff on Friday night (16-22), they would have secured both a home quarterfinal and semifinal.

The worst part is that they had every chance to make it count, but missed opportunities and woeful discipline were the order of the day at Arms Park.

The Stormers simply could not keep up with Cardiff’s pace, and even when they were on the attack, they couldn’t overcome the hosts’ defence. In the end, all they got from the game was a losing bonus point.

And that will never be good enough for a team like the Stormers.

Underachieving Sharks

The lingering question throughout the regular season was why the Sharks – with all the Springboks they have at their disposal – just couldn’t deliver results.

And it’s a valid one.

Given their strong financial position and how Bok-blessed the Sharks are, they have failed to achieve anything noteworthy this season.

Not only did they miss out on the quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons, but they also exited the lower-tier Challenge Cup in the Round of 16.

Let’s hope bringing through exciting youngsters aren’t the only thing the Sharks can be praised for next season.