Why have Springbok-littered South African sides failed to make a mark on Europe’s premier club competition?
South Africa still remains a little distance from Europe. Don’t panic, neither Europe or south Africa have shifted off the continental crust and moved towards each other.
If either had, Donald Trump would probably have laid claim to both and then looked to rename them North and South Trumpica.
The reference to South Africa still being a little distance from Europe is a reference to the South African teams having not managed to crack European competition, namely the European Rugby Champions Cup.
That isn’t the case in the Challenge Cup of course, where the Sharks have already been victorious (in 2023-24). However, when most South African supporters aimed their gaze away from Super Rugby towards Europe, the Champions cup was the goal.
What is the issue with South African teams in the Champions Cup?
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The lack of meaningful penetration into European competition has come as a bit of a surprise to the writer of this column, whose fascination with South African rugby has led to him becoming at least 37% South African over the past few seasons and seen him drink Brandy and Coke in volumes not witnessed in the UK as the late ’80s.
When the South African teams joined the champions Cup in the 2022-23 season, it seemed reasonable that one/two of their teams would be semifinal/final contenders within the first three or four years.
That hasn’t quite transpired so far. Not to the same degree that it has in the United Rugby Championshipsuch as, where their presence has been felt since minute one.
Ange capuozzo and Toulouse gave the Sharks a torrid afternoon in their European Rugby Champions Cup opener (Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)
In the opening weekend of this season’s Champions Cup, the Stormers were the only one of the three South African sides in the competition to come away with a victory. Last season, none of the three South African teams involved in the pool stages (the Bulls, the Sharks and the Stormers) made the knockouts, winning just three fixtures of the 12 they played in total. The Bulls later went on to reach the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup.
While it has come as a surprise that the South African teams haven’t been able to adjust to the competition in the first few years, there are some valid reasons as to why.
Why are the South African teams struggling in the Champions Cup?
Firstly, the Champions Cup is no doddle. Look at Leinster such as. A team dedicated to and set up for European competition hasn’t been able to defeat the end boss for many a season.
They’ve made four out of the last seven finals but f
South African Teams in European Rugby: What’s Going Wrong?
The Sharks departed the Champions Cup at the pool stage last season (David Rogers/Getty Images)
The structure of the south African season doesn’t help their provincial game. South African rugby is playing a hybrid season; their provinces follow the northern hemisphere calendar,but the springboks still follow the southern hemisphere schedule.
This creates a arduous balance with player release at the provincial level. It’s a especially difficult issue to solve when player welfare is such an important concern in the modern game.
The South African provincial teams could arguably select better squads for European competition, but it would come at a notable cost to their players’ mental and physical wellbeing.
Should we expect more from the South African teams?
Then there’s the argument that maybe, as a rugby public in Europe and in South Africa, we should adjust our expectations.
Worth a look