Cape Town - A video clip shared on social media this week gave a brief indication of how uncomfortable the South African franchises have found it flying up and down to Europe and back over the course of the season.
In it, Lions locks Reinhard Nothnagel and Ruben Schoeman can be seen squashed into economy-class seating, their legs contorted and jammed into their confined seats, presumably on a United Rugby Championship sponsored Qatar Airlines flight earlier this season. Nothnagel did not make the trip to Glasgow this past week to face the Warriors, where the Lions lost 31-21 in their Challenge Cup quarter-final, due to a cheek injury.
Nothnagel can be heard saying with a chuckle: “Lekker op toer, boys (Nice on tour, boys),” with the replay coming: “10 ure (hours),” before Nothnagel quips back, “Yes, boys.”
Indeed, the cramped quarters seem near intolerable for a rugby player on a long-haul flight. So, after yet another trip there and back again the Lions, Sharks and Stormers will be thankful they will close out the regular URC season at home.
All three of those SA teams lost their matches in Europe this past weekend – the Sharks 54-20 to Toulouse and the Stormers 42-17 to Exeter in the Champions Cup; while the Lions were undone by a Franco Smith-inspired Warriors.
The travel fatigue will certainly have played its part in their defeats, as much as the ruthless and excellent execution of their hosts on the day. The Lions, Sharks and Stormers will then have to not only bounce back from unfortunate defeats, but also rest and recuperate enough to return to winning ways this weekend.
The Bulls, meanwhile, remained home to finally snap a 10-match losing streak in all competitions when director of rugby Jake White selected a powerful matchday 23, which duly defeated Griquas 40-3 in the Currie Cup at the weekend. The Pretoria-based side were previously knocked out of the Champions Cup during the round of 16, also by Toulouse.
It means that all four teams can now concentrate exclusively on qualifying for the best possible position in the URC. Playoff spots are still up for grabs, and while the Stormers have already – in all probability – secured passage to the quarter-finals in the tournament, the Bulls, Lions and Sharks are in a fight to make their progression secure.
The Lions have the most slender of chances of those three teams. They are currently 11th on the standings on 38 points. They need to secure healthy victories over Leinster and Zebre in the coming weeks, and rely on Cardiff, Benetton, the Sharks, Connacht and Munster above them to slip up in their final two games to have a chance of making the top eight.*
IOL Sport