The South African teams have enjoyed a “magical start” to the Champions and Challenge cups, and winning one or both of these competitions is inevitable, according to MARK KEOHANE.

In his TimesLIVE column, Keohane predicts an SA team will be crowned champions in “three seasons, maybe even in the next two”, based on strong debut performances against some of Europe’s elite clubs, and after exceeding expectations in the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

Keohane, though, expects the challenge of competing on several competitive fronts – including the Currie Cup – to be an extreme test of squad depth for even the likes of URC champions DHL Stormers, and he isn’t all that surprised coaches are already willing to risk defeat for the greater good.

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“What South African teams will have to learn over the next few years is how to pace themselves in getting through a year of URC, Champions Cup/Challenge Cup and the Currie Cup. Squad depth is going to be critical, as is the decision, sometimes made mid-season about which competition to prioritise,” he writes.

“It takes a very special group of players to win their premier domestic title and win the biggest European title.

“This season will be one of lessons for the South African teams in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup and Bulls coach Jake White, who coached in Europe, this weekend sent an experimental squad to Exeter that was unlikely to challenge the powerful English side. White’s Bulls’ focus this month is on beating the champion URC Stormers in Cape Town next Saturday.

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“Stormers coach John Dobson took a powerful squad to Clermont in France, where teams rarely win, and nearly came away with a win.

“The Cheetahs won against Pau in France and on Friday evening the Sharks beat Bordeaux in France. The question is when does a coach concede a match on the road for the bigger picture of being able to win both competitions, for example the URC and Champions Cup.

“South Africa’s early introduction to the URC a year ago proved an opening month of misery but what followed was magical, with the Stormers winning the title.

“The first few weeks of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup have proved as magical for South African teams, and it is a case of not if but when a South African team can win these two competitions.”

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