Official United Rugby Championship thread

[Chilli]

Quarters finalized
Leinster vs Glasgow
Stormers vs EdinBokke
Ulster vs Munster
Bulls vs Sharks

So,
Leinster
Stormers
Ulster
$harks
Then?

[Sards]

Sharks are going to have to go full beast mode to get a strong bonus point victory against Ulster. To put pressure on the Stormers against the Scarlets who the Stormers should easily beat with a bonus point. Bragging rights only at play here. Sharks are very inconsistent at home so home advantage means nothing

Did you check the log? Bragging rights.

Yup. Enjoy.

I kinda fancy the Sharks chances more against the Bulls, then the Stormers vs full squad Edinburgh

[Sards]

Quarters finalized
Leinster vs Glasgow
Stormers vs EdinBokke
Ulster vs Munster
Bulls vs Sharks

So,
Leinster
Stormers
Ulster
$harks
Then?

Would surely be
Sharks vs Leinster
Ulster vs Stormers.

But on tonight's showing against a bottom half side I think the Stormers will struggle against a full Edinburgh side and the Bulls are deadly at playoffs.
Could well be
Leinster vs Edinburgh
Bulls vs Munster

And then the Bulls getting drilled vs Leinster

[OomStruisbaai]

Quarters finalized
Leinster vs Glasgow
Stormers vs EdinBokke
Ulster vs Munster
Bulls vs Sharks

So,
Leinster
Stormers
Ulster
$harks
Then?

Semis
Winner Leinster/ Glasgow vs winner Bulls/Sharks
Winner Stormers/Edinburgh vs Winner Ulster/Munster

[OomStruisbaai]

Quarters finalized
Leinster vs Glasgow
Stormers vs EdinBokke
Ulster vs Munster
Bulls vs Sharks

So,
Leinster
Stormers
Ulster
$harks
Then?

Would surely be
Sharks vs Leinster
Ulster vs Stormers.

But on tonight's showing against a bottom half side I think the Stormers will struggle against a full Edinburgh side and the Bulls are deadly at playoffs.
Could well be
Leinster vs Edinburgh
Bulls vs Munster

And then the Bulls getting drilled vs Leinster

Bulls will play Leinster in the semi.

[Slick]

Edinburgh will beat the Stormers

[Sards]

24 percent chance of rain this weekend.
I will miss all the action. Away for a fishing trip with my boys and a few mates and their boys. Could possibly do the trek to Gaansbaai to catch the games... wi fi won't work where we are going.....and doubt the boys will be interested in rugby over a braai at the cabin overlooking the sea.......yeah. it's not going to happen.

[fishfoodie]

The URC must be delighted, the only thing they might have hoped for, was a Welsh team in the playoffs, but unfortunately, none of them was honestly worthy of the place.

Three of the games could go either way, & if I'm pragmatic about it, even the Leinster v Glasgow game is ~75/25%, because who knows what team, & mentality the Leinster players will have after next weeks ERC Final ?

Not a bad outcome, given all the crap we've had with Covid these last couple of year !

[OomStruisbaai]

24 percent chance of rain this weekend.
I will miss all the action. Away for a fishing trip with my boys and a few mates and their boys. Could possibly do the trek to Gaansbaai to catch the games... wi fi won't work where we are going.....and doubt the boys will be interested in rugby over a braai at the cabin overlooking the sea.......yeah. it's not going to happen.

. Go look at the fixture list. I am sick of helping you.

[Chilli]

24 percent chance of rain this weekend.
I will miss all the action. Away for a fishing trip with my boys and a few mates and their boys. Could possibly do the trek to Gaansbaai to catch the games... wi fi won't work where we are going.....and doubt the boys will be interested in rugby over a braai at the cabin overlooking the sea.......yeah. it's not going to happen.

. Go look at the fixture list. I am sick of helping you.

Oom, did you post the SA Conference log?

[OomStruisbaai]

Edinburgh will beat the Stormers

Yes by 50. We need rain in the Western Cape.

[OomStruisbaai]

24 percent chance of rain this weekend.
I will miss all the action. Away for a fishing trip with my boys and a few mates and their boys. Could possibly do the trek to Gaansbaai to catch the games... wi fi won't work where we are going.....and doubt the boys will be interested in rugby over a braai at the cabin overlooking the sea.......yeah. it's not going to happen.

. Go look at the fixture list. I am sick of helping you.

Oom, did you post the SA Conference log?

No, Sards will

https://images.app.goo.gl/bbtQQP9ydfWcQtJPA

[FalseBayFC]

Edinburgh will beat the Stormers

If it rains they'll have a distinct advantage. Edinburgh also seem to be a more experienced and mature side. Better suited for finals rugby. The Stormers are a very free scoring team though. Hard to write them off. They do have problems with their lineout and their bench is not that deep.

[OomStruisbaai]

Been watching Leinster last night. Their youngster team is impressive. There isn't much difference between their A and B team. The youngsters play with more passion and hunger to impress.

Feel a bit for the Scarlets who gave us a hard game. The lose out because of that two late tries the Bulls let in.

Jake White also got it right by using his URC players in the CC. It was obvious from the Sharks and Stormers that they were rusty in the 1st half.

[OomStruisbaai]

Edinburgh will beat the Stormers

If it rains they'll have a distinct advantage. Edinburgh also seem to be a more experienced and mature side. Better suited for finals rugby. The Stormers are a very free scoring team though. Hard to write them off. They do have problems with their lineout and their bench is not that deep.

The bench was impressive last night. The defense was much improved and won it in the end. It was the same CC defense against the Pumas.

Sorry Godlen.

Moerat went missing yesterday. Hopefully Adre Smith , de Wet and Herschel will be back.

[FalseBayFC]

My South African URC team of the regular season. 5 Stormers, 5 Bulls, 5 Lions No Sharks, but honorable mentions for Ox, Mchunu, Thomas and Phepsi Buthelezi

Steven Kitshoff
Johan Grobelaar
Carlu Sadie
Ruan Nortje
Ruben Schoeman
Marcel Coetzee
Vincent Tshituka
Evan Roos
Morne van der Berg
Manie Libbok
Leolin Zas
Burger Odendaal
Harold Vorster
Madosh Tambwe
Warwick Gelant

[OomStruisbaai]

United Rugby Championship quarterfinals (4 June - home teams first)

Leinster (1) v Glasgow Warriors (8)
DHL Stormers (2) v Edinburgh (7)
Ulster (3) v Munster (6)
Vodacom Bulls (4) v Cell C Sharks (5)

Final round results

Benetton 69 Cardiff 21
Ulster 24 Cell C Sharks 21
Vodacom Bulls 38< Ospreys 31
Connacht 22 Zebre Parma 20
Dragons 11 Emirates Lions 21
Scarlets 21 DHL Stormers 26
Edinburgh 28 Glasgow Warriors 11
Leinster 35 Munster 25

Shield winners

Ireland: Leinster
South Africa: Stormers
Scotland/Italy: Edinburgh
Wales: Ospreys

[OomStruisbaai]

The Stormers wining the SA shield after losing only one SA match against the Lions at home.

[weegie01]

I have cut and pasted this as it is behind a paywall.

Sir Ian McGeechan's take on things in the Telegraph, which is an English paper that normally barely mentions the URC.

We all win from South Africa joining the Champions Cup

Participation of Stormers, Bulls and Sharks in next year's blue riband event will transform European and South African rugby for the better

The Champions Cup is going to go through arguably the biggest change in its 27-year history next season. In a revolutionary move, a new trio of formidable clubs will join the European battle royal, and in the process they will turbocharge the transformation of a competition which has already made huge strides this season. Yet very few people seem to be aware of the seismic change that has already been set in motion in the northern hemisphere’s blue riband club tournament.

This weekend sees the final round of the United Rugby Championship’s regular season, but weeks ago we already knew the composition of the eight-strong URC contingent which will compete in next season’s Champions Cup. There will be three Irish teams, one Scottish team and one Welsh team.

And, for the first time, there will be three South African teams; the Sharks, Stormers and Bulls – Natal, Western Province and Northern Transvaal back in my playing days – have already finished in the top seven of the URC and have consequently qualified for the Champions Cup. Of the four South African sides who entered this season’s URC for the first time, only the Lions failed to qualify.

If the impact of the three South African giants upon the URC in their inaugural year is any guide, they will not only hugely enhance the Champions Cup, but will provide a formidable challenge for the best of the Top 14 and Premiership clubs, especially as the English clubs have undergone a significant cut in their salary cap. In the URC, the South African quartet have already made the top Irish provinces in particular into better sides because they have provided a different and more varied challenge. This is exactly why the French clubs are dominant in Europe – they meet such a variety of challenges and styles and environments within the Top 14 that they have to be multidimensional sides to succeed, to a degree which the English clubs have yet to emulate.

Every URC side who have travelled from Europe to South Africa have been asked new questions. The physicality of the four South African sides has been relentless, but their back moves and ability out wide, not to mention the humidity and the altitude, have forced the visiting northern-hemisphere clubs to adapt. This has often been a painful process – of the 16 games in which European URC sides have played in South Africa, the visitors have won just two (in fairness, Munster sent a much- weakened side, while Leinster sent a second team).

How the Top 14 and Premiership sides who are drawn in the same pools as the three South African provinces will fare at the rugby cathedrals of Kings Park, Newlands or Loftus Versfeld will be fascinating. The welcome will be warm both on and off the pitch.

Before the lustre of Super Rugby began to fade, with the exodus of South African players to the northern hemisphere making their sides less competitive against the all-conquering Kiwis, their crowds were impressive. At their height the Bulls regularly pulled in 40,000 fans, in 2015 the Stormers averaged 33,000 and the Sharks were the same.

Kolisi decision shows times are changing
Television figures were equally impressive: in 2015, the Stormers averaged 635,000 viewers per Super Rugby game; the Bulls 591,000 and the Sharks 534,550. An increasingly complicated Super Rugby structure turned fans of the three and the Lions off and the figures for the Covid-hit URC season, with its confusing structure, have also been relatively poor. But the demand is there for an easy-to-understand, high-quality tournament, which is precisely what the Champions Cup represents.

The cup could be as much of a shot in the arm for South African rugby as it has been for the top European sides. One of the great achievements of the Champions Cup is to throw up herculean contests between sides that do not usually play each other, and stadiums filling up as a result. Think the Aviva in Dublin for the visit of Toulouse, Welford Road for the arrival of Leinster, the Stade Marcel Deflandre as Ronan O’Gara’s Yellow Submarine entertained Montpellier, or the Stade Marcel-Michelin in full cry.

Now imagine the Stormers, Bulls or Sharks hosting Toulouse, a full-strength Leinster, or Saracens. The spectacle, the quality of the rugby, and the drama – especially in its knockout rounds – will surely bring back their crowds. South Africa becoming a feature of northern-hemisphere rugby could also transform their domestic game. For years their big clubs have been losing their best and brightest, yet the decision of Siya Kolisi to turn down big-money moves to France or Japan to sign up to Sharks for five years is a sign that times are changing, and the Springbok captain is not an outlier.

Being ejected from Super Rugby may prove a blessing in disguise. The top players in South Africa no longer have to travel over 14 time zones to compete in Super Rugby. And taking part in the Rugby Championship each year gives the Springboks regular matches against the All Blacks, Wallabies and Pumas, while being a part of the URC and Champions Cup has brought their top four provinces long-term playing and commercial stability, and all in a time zone which means fans can watch top-quality rugby at a sensible hour.

The South Africans are now having the best of both worlds, and so are we. I already cannot wait for next year’s Champions Cup.

[PCPhil]

Pretty well sums it up.

[OomStruisbaai]

Thanks for that. I love the URC. Can't wait to see our teams in the Champions Cup next year.

[OomStruisbaai]

[OomStruisbaai]

[Chilli]

Disclaimer
<No $harks players or supporters were hurt in the production of this video, not physically at least>

[OomStruisbaai]

Sharks lucky to get the Bulls. They should win.

[Sards]

Sharks lucky to get the Bulls. They should win.

It's knockout. A bad game and it's over.
Just as if the Stormers struggled against the Scarlets and put in as bad a performance against one of the weaker teams away how are they going to cope with Edinburgh . Can't wait to see the match officials.

[Chilli]

[OomStruisbaai]

Sharks lucky to get the Bulls. They should win.

It's knockout. A bad game and it's over.
Just as if the Stormers struggled against the Scarlets and put in as bad a performance against one of the weaker teams away how are they going to cope with Edinburgh . Can't wait to see the match officials.

Check the scoreboard when we played them at home.

[OomStruisbaai]

Should added with x Sharks rejected players like Roos, Libbok and Sass.

[Jock42]

Is there any talk in when Embra will fly out? The chaff last time was that if you can't acclimatise for min 2 weeks it's best to leave it til last minute. Fine if you're in country but you wouldnt want to travel that distance that late.

[OomStruisbaai]

Is there any talk in when Embra will fly out? The chaff last time was that if you can't acclimatise for min 2 weeks it's best to leave it til last minute. Fine if you're in country but you wouldnt want to travel that distance that late.

Pierre Schoeman and WP Nel arrived this morning. Being put on a biltong and braai diet for two weeks.

[Sards]

Sharks lucky to get the Bulls. They should win.

It's knockout. A bad game and it's over.
Just as if the Stormers struggled against the Scarlets and put in as bad a performance against one of the weaker teams away how are they going to cope with Edinburgh . Can't wait to see the match officials.

Check the scoreboard when we played them at home.

I remember the controversy

[OomStruisbaai]

Sards surely you will support the Stormers?

[Chilli]

Is there any talk in when Embra will fly out? The chaff last time was that if you can't acclimatise for min 2 weeks it's best to leave it til last minute. Fine if you're in country but you wouldnt want to travel that distance that late.

They are playing at sea level so no problem with altitude.

This is only if they would play on the Highveld.: Bloemfontein, Gauteng, Pretoria, Nelspruit.

[Jock42]

Is there any talk in when Embra will fly out? The chaff last time was that if you can't acclimatise for min 2 weeks it's best to leave it til last minute. Fine if you're in country but you wouldnt want to travel that distance that late.

They are playing at sea level so no problem with altitude.

This is only if they would play on the Highveld.: Bloemfontein, Gauteng, Pretoria, Nelspruit.

Was confusing them with the Lions match the other week.

[OomStruisbaai]

Will support the Bulls in the semi final. Stormers have the best chance of the Saffer teams playing at home.

[FalseBayFC]

The Sharks will manshame the girly boys from Pretoria. It'll be like 1990 when Tony Watson scored that try at Loftus and made all the Bulls supporters cry. Only this time it will be Curwin Bosch who wins it for us and all of his critics will spontaneously combust.

[OomStruisbaai]

Piesangboere use to be my 2nd team. Sards made it my worst Saffer team with his arrogance. My Mrs will kak on me, she was born in Escourt and hate the Bulls since Naas Botha days. I,ll be quietly laugh at the Sharks. The Bulls will bliksem them hard.

[Sards]

Piesangboere use to be my 2nd team. Sards made it my worst Saffer team with his arrogance. My Mrs will kak on me, she was born in Escourt and hate the Bulls since Naas Botha days. I,ll be quietly laugh at the Sharks. The Bulls will bliksem them hard.

Be careful what you wish for. I still believe you have more to worry about this qf round than us. Edinburgh will send their best side. You can be sure of that.

[OomStruisbaai]

We won the real CC. The rest is a bonus.