With two more round-robin matches remaining in the United Rugby Championship, the playoff picture will become clearer after this weekend’s clashes in the tournament.
For the South African sides, there will only be home matches and the opportunity to claim maximum points from them in front of fired-up home crowds. While the Bulls are the only side secured of a home playoff, the Sharks can seal theirs with a victory on Friday, while the Stormers can take one step closer to finishing in the top six should they win on Saturday.
This could put them on a collision course with the Sharks for the playoffs. For now, though, the SA sides won’t focus too far ahead, because of the imminent Welsh invasion this round.
After some scrappy wins that also brought their fight to the fore, the Sharks owe Kings Park and their fan base a victory without the need to grab their heart pills. They burgled their way to some wins overseas, with the forwards and defence coming to their rescue. Now it’s time for a team performance at home to give their fans some comfortable victories, starting with the Ospreys on Friday.
The Bulls will be looking to fix minor errors in their game plan as they play a pivotal game against Cardiff in Pretoria. It’s been a tough four-week tour for the Loftus Versfeld side, but the week break should have them refreshed for the challenge.
Five points will keep the home side in the hunt for the second place on the overall URC log, but they need the Warriors to drop points in Benetton or Dublin in their final two matches.
There will be plenty to celebrate on Saturday when the Stormers take on the Dragons. They’ll greet legend Brok Harris, who retired after a knee injury ended his final season prematurely. But, his farewell comes against the only other professional side he has ever played for.
It will be a special occasion.
So too for centurion Damian Willemse. The double World Cup winner will celebrate 100 Stormers games, and he should be one of the game drivers for the Cape side. They look set to welcome back Manie Libbok, and the Springbok flyhalf will hope to hit his straps on his return from a lengthy knee injury.
