EPCR bosses happy with South Africa’s contribution to European rugby despite declining results

Stedman Gans of the Vodacom Blue Bulls during the Investec Champions Cup match between Vodacom Bulls and Stade Francais at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. South Africa. (Photo by Gordon Arons/Gallo Images)

By Craig Ray

1 Apr 2025

Despite the positive rhetoric and data showing shoots of growth, South African teams have failed to contribute significantly on a performance level to the flagship Champions Cup.

European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) bosses are bullish over the participation of South African teams in the Champions and Challenge Cups.

This is despite obvious and undeniable teething problems and performance issues that might be more serious and more critical than they’re letting on.

Last week, EPCR chairperson Dominic McKay and chief executive Jacques Raynaud were in South Africa to meet the South African Rugby Union (Saru) and the five local clubs that compete in EPCR.

There seems to be a genuine positivity towards South Africa’s contribution, although there are undeniably some significant challenges to work through.

Despite the positive rhetoric and data showing shoots of growth, South African teams have failed to contribute significantly on a performance level to the flagship Champions Cup.

But the message was unbendingly that “South African teams are good and the EPCR is benefiting”.

Declining performances

The Sharks won the 2023/24 Challenge Cup, but that is the secondary competition of EPCR – think of it as soccer’s Europa Cup.

When it comes to the Champions Cup, no South African team has progressed beyond the quarterfinals and this season none made the playoffs.

In the inaugural season of South African participation, the Sharks and the Stormers each won three of their four pool matches while the Bulls won two from four. That was a respectable eight wins from 12 pool matches.

Read more: SA teams need to take Champions Cup more seriously after another season of abject failure

The Sharks and the Stormers both won their round-of-16 matches before coming unstuck in the quarterfinals, while the Bulls were eliminated in the last 16.

In 2023/24 only the Bulls and Stormers qualified for the Champions Cup out of the previous season’s United Rugby Championship (URC) standings.

EPCR Dominic McKay, EPCR chairmperson, speaks to the media during the EPCR 2023/24 season launch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on 22 November 2023. (Photo: Richard Heathcote / Getty Images)

The Stormers lost at home to La Rochelle in the round of 16 and the Bulls were thumped in the quarterfinals by Harlequins.

This season – the 2024/25 campaign – saw the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers win three pool games out of 12 between them. None made the playoffs.

The trend has been downward for South African teams while the noise against their participation from sectors of the northern hemisphere media has increased.

The reason for the downward trend? Well, mainly because South African teams are into a fourth straight year of 12-month seasons. Players are breaking down and injury lists are growing.

Champions and Challenge Cup pool matches are played in December and January, often when South African clubs are mandated to rest key Springbok players.

And with URC as the primary competition for South African teams, coaches have to juggle squads to meet the demands of two competitions – with the URC generally winning out.

Away defeats are not unusual in the Champions Cup, but six out of six away losses by the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers this season, with an average losing score of 47-14, was not a good look.

“We’re all competitive. But the reality is we’ve got to look after these athletes. They are not robots. They don’t front up every week,” was Sharks coach John Plumtree’s assessment after his side lost 56-17 to English club Leicester last December.

Scheduling is the major issue because away games in EPCR tend to be one-week, one-offs visits, instead of a two-match “mini-tour”.

“I think the organisers need to have a look at it and go: ‘Well, why are we sending a team up here for one week?’” Plumtree asked in December.

“We arrive on Wednesday and play on Saturday. It’s hardly high performance. Maybe we should come up here and play a couple of games and stay for a fortnight? They need to look at it.”

Embrose Papier of the Bulls intercepts the ball during their Champions Cup match against Stade Francais at Loftus Versfeld on 18 January 2025. (Photo: Gordon Arons / Gallo Images)

EPCR growing?

Despite an obvious performance drop-off by South African teams, McKay and his board at EPCR are not about to end the South African experiment – even if some commentators might want to.

“It’s been a great two-and-a-half years. I think the quality of the games in South Africa and in Europe have been fantastic,” McKay told Daily Maverick.

“The very fact that the Sharks won the Challenge Cup is a real statement of intent. I would love for the South African clubs to go really deep into the Champions Cup, but it’s hard.

“It’s a very hard competition because it’s the world’s best players, the best clubs, all coming together in eight weekends. It’s a tough competition to go deep into, but we’re very pleased with the way the South African teams are working so well and integrating and hosting.”

Raynaud produced some numbers to back up the claim:

“We’re constantly increasing the stadium attendance in South Africa. We’re now at 23,000 on average for the Stormers. We’re about 12,000 for the Bulls.

“We’re constantly increasing, and this is a first indicator of the growth in this market. Just more than 20% of our digital audience comes from South Africa now.

The Sharks celebrate after winning the Challenge Cup against Gloucester at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on 24 May 2024. (Photo: Steve Haag Sports / Gallo Images)

“It’s at a point where we’ve even chosen a South African fantasy system to integrate to the entire competition. When you look at the TV numbers, we’ve grown 30% since the start of the competition.”

McKay added: “I think there’s a growing affection for the quality of the South African sides. And it’s been demonstrated that it’s translated into success with the Sharks winning (the Challenge Cup) in London last year.

“Eben (Etzebeth) described it as his greatest moment in club colours. And that’s a recognition that the players love it. And what we talk about in EPCR is making decisions that are in the right interest of the players, and decisions that are in the right interest of the fans.

“The growth that Jacques mentioned in terms of the attendances, growth in terms of sponsors, growth in terms of broadcasters, growth in terms of engagement socially, demonstrates that South Africa is adding to the competition.”

Stedman Gans on the attack during the Bulls’ Champions Cup clash with Stade Francais at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. (Photo: Gordon Arons / Gallo Images)

Challenges

Despite the generally rosy feedback from EPCR, they are not oblivious to challenges – not only their own – but the entire sport’s.

Two of the biggest unions – the Irish Rugby Football Union and England’s Rugby Football Union – declared huge losses for the 2023/24 financial year – €18.4-million and £34.4-million respectively. And Saru might be facing another small deficit as well when it releases its next annual report.

“It’s a massive focus, to ensure that we are making the right decisions collectively to plot a sustainable future for the sport,” McKay agreed.

“We represent, through EPCR, three leagues, URC, the Premier Rugby League (in England) and the Top 14 (in France), who within them have 42 clubs that filter into our two competitions, from eight countries.

“The consequence of our vantage point, looking at those eight countries and those three leagues and the 42 clubs, we can see very clearly the financial challenges that rugby faces.

“It’s beholden upon us as, I guess, leaders in the sport, or administrators in the sport, to double our efforts and work really hard to develop the sport in a sustainable way.

“And that sometimes means compromises – compromises in schedules or compromises in fixtures or compromises in calendars – but it also means collaboration.

“It means working together with our clubs and with our leagues and with our unions to make good-quality decisions, and trying to pull the overall pie; rather than just moving money from the international game to the professional game, it’s about growing the overall value of the sport.” DM

Categories:

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

South Africa

Declining performances

EPCR growing?

Challenges