URC Round 9 Review

Record Crowd Sees Stormers March On

The biggest BKT URC attendance of the season saw the table-topping DHL Stormers make it eight out of eight in the league as they edged a titanic tussle with the Vodacom Bulls 13-8 on another weekend of derbies.

They left it late in front of a Cape Town capacity crowd of 53,862, but once again found a way with replacement prop Ntuthuko Mchunu claiming the match-winning score off a lineout drive 90 seconds from time.

That makes it ten out of ten in all competitions for the Stormers, giving Director of Rugby John Dobson further reason to celebrate just days after signing a four-year contract extension.

Giving his verdict on the sold-out showdown with the Vodacom Bulls, Dobson said: “It was a tough derby.

“What was amazing was the contest everywhere. That’s probably what is making South African rugby so great at the moment, why we win World Cups, that we are so used to this game - scrum, lineout, maul, breakdown, massive contests. It’s just really good for South African rugby.

“You could hear the thuds in the coaching box, which is insulated. It was crazy stuff.

“It was a desperate Bulls team, a good Bulls team. Look how many Springboks were in their pack. So, it’s a good win.”

Providing the view from the visiting camp, Bulls skipper Ruan Nortje said: “Both teams were in it the full 80 minutes and, although there wasn’t a lot of running rugby, I think it was an exciting game.

“All credit to the Stormers, for finishing in the 78th minute. That’s why they are top of the log. When they get the opportunities, they finish. We had our opportunities to win the game and just couldn’t execute.”

It was a sixth straight defeat for the Bulls in all competitions and they are down in 11th in the BKT URC table.

But second row Nortje remains positive, saying: “There’s a lot of belief in this team. We were in this position a few years ago, so I know we will get ourselves out of it.”

It’s now Glasgow Warriors leading the chase behind the Stormers, with Franco Smith’s team having jumped up two places to second thanks to a 47-10 bonus point victory over Zebre Parma in Scotstoun.

For the second game in a row, there was a brace of tries for in-form winger Jamie Dobie, while fly-half Duncan Weir marked his final appearance for the club before moving into an Academy coaching role by touching down in the dying minutes.

Ulster Rugby are up to third having leapfrogged over Munster Rugby by beating them 28-3 in front of a bumper Belfast crowd on Friday night, with try-scoring No 8 Bryn Ward named Player of the Match.

That’s now six wins out of eight for them in the league, while they have a game in hand on all the teams towards the top of the table apart from the Stormers.

Skipper Iain Henderson said: “As I’ve been spouting for the last six months, we’ve seen the progress behind closed doors and it’s great to see it coming out in matches like this.

“The young lads coming through are showing such promise and the quality of our training sessions has just been getting better and better and the way the coaches have been coaching us. We are seeing that all transferring onto the pitch now. It’s exciting to see it finally coming out.

“When times are tough, it is so difficult to drag yourself back and get the feeling good, so we are just thriving in this environment. There is a good buzz about the place. It’s a good craic, which is positive.

“I really hope the Irish coaching staff have a look at these young lads and see how they fit into an exciting Ireland squad going forward.”

Reflecting on the full house at a snowy, bitterly cold Affidea Stadium, second row Henderson said: “We love the fact that we had a sell out and we really fed off that.

“As bad a night as it was with the weather, you could see the guys wanting to still try and play, wanting to put on that spectacle to bring exciting rugby and an exciting night.

“We know we’ve been guilty in the past of waiting for the fans to pick us up, so we said we were really going to try our best to lift the roof and give what we want to give to them.”

Cardiff Rugby have dropped down to fourth in the wake of losing 33-22 to the Ospreys, with Leinster Rugby now just a point behind them in fifth after racking up the maximum in beating Connacht Rugby 52-17 with two tries apiece from threequarters Charlie Tector and Tommy O’Brien.

There was a dramatic ending to the weekend’s other South African derby as the Lions secured a last-gasp 23-22 victory over the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Durban with replacement scrum-half Hassiem Pead claiming the match-winning try in the 81st minute.

The Lions had led 15-0 early on, but were then overhauled amid a 20 minute red card for flanker Ruan Venter before snatching the spoils at the death to rise to seventh.

Their captain Francke Horn said: “What an unbelievable game that was!

“We had 20 minutes with 14 men and kept them out. There were then some big moments at the end where we held them up over the line.

“Then to take that last opportunity just shows you what our team stands for and how we will play to the end whistle.”

There was also a nail-biting finish in Treviso where Edinburgh Rugby held on in the face of intense late pressure to beat Benetton Rugby 15-14.

They went 15-0 up early in the second half when Scotland wing Darcy Graham claimed a long range kick-and-chase try, but the hosts staged a stirring revival to set up a grandstand finish.

Exceptional Ospreys Bounce Back From Rock Bottom

Having been bottom of the table and “embarrassed” going into Christmas, the Ospreys are now up to ninth after producing an “exceptional” display against Cardiff Rugby to complete a festive derby double.

They were down in 16th place in the BKT URC, with just one win from their opening seven league games, after losing 26-10 at home to Munster a fortnight ago.

But, since then, they have bounced back in style by recording bonus point victories over both the Scarlets and Cardiff.

Their skipper for the 33-22 New Year’s Day defeat of Cardiff in front of a full house at Bridgend’s Brewery Field was hooker Sam Parry.

He said: “If I am being honest, I think Munster embarrassed us really.

“They taught us a lesson on a few things that we pride ourselves on. That really stung us. When I looked at the table and saw we were bottom, it really hurt.

“It was our first time back here since then and as a group we were determined to put those wrongs right.

“It was something we spoke about that we needed to put on a big performance because Cardiff have been going very well, but also just to back up from last week against the Scarlets. It was massive.

“I am glad we are climbing up the table now. We are not where we want to be just yet, so we will keep going and keep trying to get as high as we can.”

Adding his thoughts, head coach Mark Jones said: “I am so pleased for the group.

“The boys have put an awful lot of work into the first half of the season and the wins column hasn’t always been as nice as we would like it to be.

“But I have always felt the performances have been progressive in the large part and that when we get our stuff right and execute really well we are a good side.

“When you play someone like Cardiff, who have amassed as many wins as they have, we knew we would have to be at our best to get anything out of the game and I thought we were exceptional. I just thought the full package was good.”

The former Wales wing continued: “The derbies are so mentally and physically demanding and then you add in Christmas and New Year to it, there’s a lot of distractions and you could make a lot of excuses for not winning or not performing.

“Our players have done none of that. They have come into work when we have asked them to and done really well and got the most out of each day. It’s been tough because they have been tired and there’s been lots going on, for individuals and the collective, with everything that’s going on in the background as well.

“The way they have stayed focused and been so energized and excited to play with their team-mates, with the shirt, in front of our fans, that’s the bit that I have been so pleased with - how much they enjoy playing, which trumps everything really. It’s great.”

For Cardiff, the festive programme brought two defeats - to the Scarlets and Ospreys - and a narrow win over the Dragons. That has seen them drop down to fourth in the league table.

Their international centre Ben Thomas said: “We all love playing the Christmas derbies and, ultimately, one from three is not good enough for us.

“So we will look back hard at this and use it as a bit of a catalyst to get better for the second half of the season.”

On the loss to the Ospreys, he said: “It was a frustrating day for us. They were better than us in every facet of the game. They were on top in breakdown, attack, defence - every aspect.

“You give a team that much dominance at the contact area, it’s going to be tough to get your game going.

“So there will be an awful lot for us to look back on.

“But sometimes you need these games, you need a bit of a reality check and it will refocus us for the second half of the season. We will work hard to get better.

“We had three pretty intense derbies and sometimes after a loss like that you can get a bit emotional and start chasing the wrong things, so it will be good for us all to have a couple of days to reflect and then come back in and get ready to improve.”

In the other Welsh derby on New Year’s Day, the Dragons continued their resurgence as they claimed an emphatic 28-5 bonus point victory over the Scarlets at Rodney Parade.

That’s now three wins from their last four matches in all competitions for the Gwent region, with the Player of the Match award going to try-scoring hooker Oli Burrows who said: “It was a big effort from 1 to 23.

“The momentum we’ve had the last couple of weeks, particularly at home, we carried that through into the new year and it’s just a hell of a way to start the year really.

“It’s probably been coming since the start of the season. It was a case of breaking that duck, getting that monkey off our back and, once you get that win, it’s amazing what a little bit of momentum does for you.

“We’ve not been a million miles off and one or two things have started to click. We have got a brilliant group here.”

Co-captain Angus O’Brien added: “It’s massive and it’s just testament to the work we are doing. We had some tough results at the start of the season, but a lot of the performances have been there, we just haven’t played 80 minutes.

“Getting that win a few weeks back against Lyon, you could see the belief with a big win against Connacht. We had a narrow loss last week at Cardiff, but we showed the confidence to come back.”

On the victory over the Scarlets, during which he converted all four tries, full-back O’Brien said: “It wasn’t perfect. The first half was a tight game, but in that second half, we were foot on the throat, we were clinical and we came away with five points, so we are delighted.”

He added: “The fans are massive. The way we play at Rodney Parade, they are a focal part of that, the energy they drive for us as a team, the way they support us, it's amazing. So, happy new year to them.”

What’s Coming Next?

The BKT URC now takes a break for a couple of weeks as the focus switches to the final two sets of pool matches in the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup.

Then it will be back to league action with Round 10 on the weekend of January 23-24.