Three South African teams could book their places in the United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-finals this weekend, with the stakes hardly higher as the play-offs begin across Europe.
On the latest episode of The Last Word on Rugby, rugby writers Leighton Koopman and John Goliath unpacked a massive weekend for the local franchises, with the Lions, Bulls and Stormers all chasing places in the final four.
The biggest challenge appears to face the Lions, who travel to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium without several key Springboks for a daunting clash against Leinster on Saturday (9pm kick-off).
The panel debated whether the Johannesburg side still have enough firepower and belief to pull off an upset away from home after an encouraging URC campaign. The Lions have repeatedly shown resilience this season, but they now face wounded defending champions looking to make amends for their Champions Cup final disappointment.
Attention also turns to Pretoria, where the Bulls host Munster at Loftus Versfeld (1pm start).
Having built a reputation as one of the competition’s most consistent sides in recent seasons, the Bulls will back themselves at altitude, especially with home support behind them. They will need to dominate up front to keep their Irish visitors in check before unleashing their dangerous runners out wide.
Meanwhile, the Stormers will look to gain revenge against Cardiff at the DHL Stadium (3.30pm kick-off) after previous frustrations against the Welsh outfit during the league phase. The Cape side’s strong home form and play-off experience could prove decisive in this clash.
They will also welcome back several key players in the backline, strengthening their bid for a semi-final spot.
The podcast also looked ahead to Rassie Erasmus’s looming Springbok squad announcement, with strong URC play-off performances likely to influence selection ahead of the international season, which starts in less than a month.
