The South African Vodacom United Rugby Championship franchises will this weekend put their skills to the test in Europe for the first time in 2022 as all four sides face international opposition on short one-week tours after four intense rounds of derbies in South Africa.
Zebre will kick off an action-packed weekend of matches on Friday night when they host the Vodacom Bulls in Parma, while the Lions will line up against log-leaders and perennial champions, Leinster, in Dublin.
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In the two matches on Saturday, Connacht will host the Stormers in Galway before Benetton welcomes the Sharks to Treviso.
The Bulls will be desperate to bounce back from their defeat against the Sharks and build winning momentum after securing victories in two of their four matches this year, but they will be wary of the fact that the hosts have their backs against the wall after failing to win any of their seven matches so far this season.
The Bulls, however, will be without former Springbok stalwart Morne Steyn, who has been suspended three weeks for a dangerous tackle in the match against the Sharks.
The Lions will face arguably their toughest test thus far in the URC when they head off to the RDS Arena to meet Leinster following a disappointing start to 2022 in which they suffered four defeats on the trot.
Leinster have been in fine form with eight wins in their 10 matches to date, and they will look to build on their 26-7 victory against Ospreys.
Lions assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher expects a tough challenge against Leinster and said: “There is a reason why Leinster is the number one team and on top of the log – they have a brilliant squad. They basically have two A teams training together, so even without their internationals they are a very strong side.
“The important thing for us is to be disciplined for 80 minutes. All the Irish teams are fit, you look at their work rate around the park. They put you under massive pressure with their defence and their kicking game.”
The Stormers, in turn, will brace themselves for a competitive battle at the Sportsground against Connacht, who have won five of their 11 matches this season, although the Capetonians will enter the match with confidence after a four-match unbeaten run this year.
A victory for the eighth-placed Stormers could also see them hop up two places on the standings, but coach John Dobson knows they would have to be at their best to win in Ireland.
“Connacht are notoriously difficult to beat at the Sportsground and we will have to adjust quickly to the different conditions, coming from a Cape summer and going into winter in Galway,” said Dobson.
“The players have embraced the challenge and we are all looking forward to the experience.”
The Sharks will also have their sights on moving up from tenth on the table when they meet Benetton at Stadio Monigo on Saturday, as they attempt to build on their victory against the Bulls a fortnight ago. It won’t be easy though as the Italians have done well this season and occupy ninth spot on the log.
Apart from the test presented by playing in vastly different conditions to that which the teams have been experiencing at home this year, it will also give them a good taste of what to expect when their overseas rivals tour South Africa after next week’s short break.
Sharks coach Sean Everitt said: “There are no easy games in the URC. Although the Six Nations is on at the moment Benetton have a wealth of international players still with them who aren’t involved in Six Nations rugby at the moment.
“They aren’t losing too many players from the pack, and we won’t be taking anything for granted. We need to focus on the job at hand which is to try get maximum points out of the next seven games which would leave us in a very good space.”
URC schedule:
Zebra Parma v Bulls
Date: Friday, 25 February
Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
SA Time: 7.30pm
Referee: Adam Jones
TV: SuperSport
Leinster v Lions
Date: Friday, 25 February
Venue: RDS Arena, Dublin
SA Time: 9.35pm
Referee: Craig Evans
TV: SuperSport
Connacht vs Stormers
Date: Saturday, 26 February
Venue: The Sportsground, Galway
SA Time: 3pm
Referee: Ben Blain
TV: SuperSport
Benetton v Sharks
Date: Saturday, 26 February
Venue: Sadio Monigo, Treviso
SA Time: 5.05pm
Referee: Andrew Brace
TV: SuperSport
Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
