Another slow start on the cards for South Africa's URC hopefuls

The race for the Rugby Championship title has never been closer as two log points separate leaders Australia from fourth-placed Argentina with two rounds to play. Argentina, once the whipping boys of the southern hemisphere showpiece, have reason to believe they can upset the Springboks.

Australia head to New Zealand this Saturday, 27 September, with a shot at ending the All Blacks’ 51-match unbeaten streak at Eden Park and boosting their title prospects.

The Boks are coming off a record-breaking 43-10 win in Wellington, and will have the benefit of playing the next game in Durban and the final round at Twickenham, where they have won their last four Tests.

New Zealand will go into meltdown if the All Blacks lose their next two matches, but the narrative will change quickly if Scott Robertson’s charges rebound over the next fortnight to claim the title.

The Rugby Championship has never been this competitive and, as a result, its storylines have never been as compelling. But as many have pointed out, we should enjoy it while it lasts, because the tournament will be shelved in 2026 when the Boks and the All Blacks devote their attention to the inaugural Greatest Rivalry tour in South Africa.

What’s more, there’s some uncertainty as to whether the competition will revert to a full schedule of fixtures in 2027. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that three-match tours could replace the current format in 2028.

Never-ending problems

At some point, changes will have to be made to the global calendar and the clubs and Test unions will have to agree to align the fixtures and rest periods for the sake of player welfare. To put it mildly, the current schedule is a mess.

South Africa’s franchises compete in the northern hemisphere club tournaments and are subject to the European structures. “Domestic” competitions like the United Rugby Championship (URC) run from September 2025 to June 2026. In theory, club players could rest and prepare for the subsequent season during the months of July and August.

And yet, the Springboks and the Pumas remain subject to the southern hemisphere Test season, which runs from July to November – and includes the Rugby Championship, which stretches from mid-­August to early October.

The upshot is that the Boks and Pumas play their toughest international fixtures – and travel vast distances – at a time when most of Europe’s top players are either resting or training ahead of the next season.

SA Rugby and the Boks have worked with the respective franchises to manage the elite players to ensure they are sufficiently rested at club level over the course of a 12-month period.

It’s been far from ideal for the clubs, and one can understand why so many rugby people in South Africa want a global season sooner rather than later – or at the very least, for the Rugby Championship to be played earlier in the calendar year to allow for a proper rest period in August.

It’s plain to see how the conflicting schedules of the Rugby Championship and the URC will have an impact on the South African franchises in the months to come. The current Bok squad members will miss the first two rounds of the URC, and it remains to be seen how many of those internationals will be rushed back into their club teams afterwards.

In the past, the Boks have been used sparingly at club level during October and called up to training camps ahead of the annual tour to Europe, which typically starts in the second week of November.

This year, the Bok tour to Europe will span five weeks, including fixtures against Japan, France, Italy, Ireland and Wales.

The first and last of these Tests fall outside World Rugby’s official international window, and it will be interesting to see how many of the Boks based at overseas clubs feature against Japan and Wales, and how many of the local players are rushed back to the franchises once the tour to Europe has concluded.

Most Test-playing nations rest their stars after a gruelling international competition or tour. Leinster are touring South Africa without the British & Irish Lions players who featured in the recent series win in Australia.

But some of the Boks may need to report to their South African franchises after the clash against Wales on 29 November, as the first round of the all-important European Champions Cup starts a week later.

The Bulls and Sharks have the most Boks on their books, and they will feel the absence of those players over the next few months.

Both franchises recently confirmed that they are without other key players for the start of the club season because of injuries.

The Bulls begin this five-game block of URC games against the Ospreys in Pretoria on Saturday and host Leinster next week. New coach Johan Ackermann will want as many log points as possible from the two home fixtures, before his side travels to Ulster, Connacht and Glasgow in subsequent rounds.

The Sharks are already abroad, preparing for a showdown with Glasgow Warriors on Friday night, 26 September. John Plumtree’s charges should bank maximum points in the next fixture against the Dragons, who finished 16th last season, but they face a tougher challenge after that against Leinster in Dublin.

The Sharks may be without their Boks for the home clashes against Ulster and Scarlets in late October, as the national squad may already be en route to Europe.

The Stormers will go into the clash against Leinster as underdogs, but if they manage to claim a point or two from that match and then beat Ospreys in round two, they will take some momentum into tour matches against Scarlets, Zebre Parma and Benetton.

Though the Italians are not to be underestimated, it’s fair to say that a tour to Italy is a far less daunting prospect than a visit to Leinster, Munster, Glasgow or even Connacht.

Like the Sharks, the Lions will begin their season with three away fixtures: against Cardiff, Zebre and Benetton. Unlike the other teams, the Lions fielded their URC line-up in the recent Currie Cup, which culminated in a gutting loss to Griquas in the final. As a result, they may possess more synergy than most other teams at this stage of the URC and may score the odd upset. Whether they can go deep in the tournament with such a limited squad is another story.

There’s a good chance that the Boks may realise their goal of defending the Rugby Championship title over the next two weeks. Come the end of November, they may return to South Africa with the scalps of France and Ireland. The outlook for the franchises, however, is less promising.

Although the likes of the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers should do enough to qualify for the URC playoffs over the next nine months, they are unlikely to dominate the competition as Leinster has in recent seasons.

Expectations should also be tempered ahead of the Champions Cup campaign, which could be hampered once again by other fixtures in the lead-up. DM

Jon Cardinelli is a freelance writer.

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.