South Africa’s four United Rugby Championship franchises return to action this weekend after making an impressive start to the new campaign.
The Bulls, Sharks and Stormers all opened their URC seasons with bonus-point victories, while the Lions produced one of the biggest results of the opening round by edging defending champions Leinster.
The Stormers got the South African campaign underway with a 29-15 win over Connacht in Ireland on Friday.
The Lions then stunned Leinster 27-26 in Johannesburg, while the Sharks powered past the Ospreys 41-24 in Durban.
The Bulls completed the winning weekend with a commanding 47-13 victory over Zebre Parma in Italy.
Attention now turns to Round 2, with another challenging set of fixtures awaiting the four South African sides.
URC Round 2 fixtures and kick-off times
Friday, 2 October
- 20:45 – Benetton vs Connacht
- 20:45 – Cardiff Rugby vs Zebre Parma
- 20:45 – Edinburgh vs Stormers
The Stormers face their second consecutive away match when they travel to Edinburgh on Friday night.
Saturday, 3 October
- 13:45 – Lions vs Ospreys
- 16:00 – Dragons RFC vs Scarlets
- 18:30 – Sharks vs Leinster
- 18:30 – Glasgow Warriors vs Ulster
- 20:45 – Munster vs Bulls
The Lions will look to build on their memorable victory over Leinster when they host the Ospreys.
The Sharks face a major test against Leinster in Durban, while the Bulls travel to Munster after their emphatic opening-round victory over Zebre.
Springbok stars could add another dimension
Another talking point heading into the second round is the possible involvement of Springbok players.
With the international calendar in mind, the extent to which South Africa’s URC franchises can integrate their Springbok stars remains a key storyline as the competition progresses.
For now, all four sides will be aiming to maintain their winning momentum and make another strong statement in Round 2.
Nine South Africans make Fantasy URC Team of the Week
South Africa’s strong opening weekend was also reflected in the official Fantasy URC Team of the Week, with nine South Africans selected.
The fan-focused feature rewards the highest-scoring player in each position based on statistics from the round, including tries, tackles, carries and successful kicks.
The selected South Africans were:
- 15: Luan Giliomee (Sharks)
- 14: Stravino Jacobs (Bulls)
- 13: Erich Cronjé (Lions)
- 10: Vusi Moyo (Sharks)
- 9: Paul de Wet (Bulls)
- 8: Nick Hatton (Sharks)
- 5: Reinhardt Ludwig (Bulls)
- 4: Ruan Vermaak (Bulls)
- 3: Vincent Koch (Sharks)
The remaining positions were filled by Piers O’Conor, Jamie Dobie, Taine Basham, David McCann, Evan Lloyd and Scott Sio.
With all four South African teams starting the campaign with victories, Round 2 promises another important test as the URC season begins to take shape.
