The Stormers' Damian Willems scores against the Harlequins in the Champions Cup. Photo: Shutterstock/Steve Haag Sports. The TV show is starting to lose audience, and executives are tempted to introduce a new character to spice things up.
This was wonderfully parodied in an episode of The Simpsons when Poochie, the skateboarding dog, was added to his show-within-show, Itchy & A scratch that only broke the existing momentum and caused a crowd riot.
For all intents and purposes, the South African franchises in the Champions Cup this season are Poochie. The very presence of the Sharks and the Stormers in Saturday's quarter-final misrepresents the European Professional Rugby Club name, adds hundreds of thousands of air miles to rugby's carbon footprint, and upsets a number of traditionalists who covet last year's Heineken Cup.
However, the sad truth is that Heineken lost its popularity long ago. There were good reasons for changing the qualifying process, but once a competition loses its mystique, it becomes almost impossible to restore it (see Super Rugby, RIP). Time cannot be turned back. Jin left town.
Therefore, we must make the most of what is left. Once the South African teams took part in the Unified Rugby Championship, their ascent to European competitions was inevitable. It is impossible to bypass air miles, but many logistical problems could have been avoided. After beating the Harlequins in their last 16 games, the Stormers found that no flights were booked for the Exeter Chiefs game, so they had to fly out in four separate groups via Doha, arriving in Devon only late Wednesday night.< /p>
There is little argument on the field that they have not improved the quality of the competition. Last year's Rugby Unified Championship final was a pan-South African event, with the Stormers and Sharks enjoying impressive victories on home soil in this season's Champions Cup Round of 16.
Harlequins' Marcus Smith kicks during a loss to the Stormers in Cape Town. Photo: Getty Images/EJ Langner
Indeed, a European team has yet to win a Champions Cup on South African soil. Where once the strongholds of the competition were Thomond Park and Marseille Michelin Stadium, teams will now seize the historic opportunity to be the first winners in Loftus Versfeld.
While the Irish, Scots and Welsh regions are already benefiting from the cross-pollination of the United rugby championship, it's especially positive that English teams are testing themselves against rivals from South Africa, especially when you remember how England seemed so unprepared for the physical strength of the Springboks in the 2019 World Cup final.
This does not mean that all South African teams are land and pound traders. The Stormers defeated the Harlequins at their own game, playing in a fast and furious style that combined with monstrous anguish. As boxing promoters often say, the fights are all about style, and the South African teams are just adding breadth and color to the Champions Cup challenge. The potential individual matches of Jack Willis vs. Sia Kolisi, Julien Marchand vs. Bonga Mbonambi, and Sam Simmonds vs. Hajiva Daimani are box office rallies in their own right.
The ultimate test of their value will be how competitive they are. The Stormers and Sharks drew over 60,000 spectators for their last 16 home games. There will be another benchmark around 19:20 Saturday night when Exeter confirm attendance for the quarter-final against the Stormers.
«Did they add interest?» Rob Baxter, director of rugby for Exeter, said. “I would like to refrain from doing that and see what kind of crowd it will be at the weekend. If we have a huge crowd, that says a lot to me about whether there is genuine additional interest in the South African team. Then we can start to connect it with other crowds that we had at that time and at this stage of the competition. That's really how we measure interest.»
There are indications that Exeter have already broken the 10,000 barrier and are on track to surpass the attendance they brought in against Montpellier.
The single biggest problem with the Champions Cup is the unwieldy tournament structure. The fact that Montpellier came within a hair's breadth of reaching the quarter-finals after winning one pool game is highly unsatisfactory. This will be resolved next season, as will the situation where the Stormers have a six-day break while traveling the globe.
Poor Poochie was quickly killed and his death was celebrated off-screen. South African franchises, on the other hand, aren't going anywhere. We better get used to them.
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