When the United Rugby Championship playoff action explodes this weekend, three South African sides will lean heavily on the magic boots of their fly-halves, and with good reason. All three number tens finished inside the competition’s top five point scorers.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been nothing short of sensational for the Stormers, topping the entire URC scoring charts with 158 points after a slow start to the campaign. The young playmaker’s points haul was fuelled by a string of superb tries, proving he’s not just a metronomic goal-kicker but a genuine attacking threat.
The Lions’ Chris Smith has been the consistency kings’ most dependable weapon all season, racking up 154 points to finish second overall. His steady hand at ten has been the platform upon which Ivan van Rooyen’s side built their playoff charge.
Meanwhile, Handré Pollard endured an uncharacteristic struggle with his goal-kicking early in the season but roared back into form to finish fifth on 97 points. That purple patch couldn’t have come at a better time for the Bulls.
The men from Pretoria believe they’ve got a genuine shot at glory this year when they host Munster at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday at 13:00. Munster aren’t the fearsome force they were two or three years ago, and the Irish province has been ravaged by injuries to several first-choice players.
But instead of an early night on Friday, the Bulls will have one eye firmly fixed on Glasgow Warriors’ clash with the competition’s comeback kids, Connacht. The Warriors may be seeded number one, but Connacht have shocked friend and foe alike by battling back from 14th place to knock over several top sides.
If the Irishmen pull off another upset, the Bulls could host a semi-final at fortress Loftus rather than making the dreaded trip to Scotland.
“We draw a lot of confidence from the experience of Springboks like Pollard and Willie le Roux,” said Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee. Springbok lock Ruan Nortjé, who is finishing his season with the Blue Bulls before heading off to honour a Japanese club contract, should also make a massive contribution.
The Stormers are desperate to set the record straight after an entirely unnecessary defeat away to Cardiff in their last outing, a loss that flew in the face of how the match was unfolding.
Back in Cape Town, coach John Dobson has identified one glaring statistic that needs addressing: “Our team is second on the competition list for the most visits to the opposition’s 22, but only ninth in terms of how many of those visits we convert into points.”
Put simply, the Stormers are already getting into the right areas, they just need to apply the squeeze and finish the job. With Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s lethal boot and attacking instincts, they’ve got the tools to do exactly that.
The Lions face the stiffest challenge of the South African trio in their first-ever URC playoff appearance. Few professional punters give them any chance against Leinster, the competition’s perennial powerhouse.
They took a proper hiding in their last match against an Irish B-team, which hardly inspires confidence. But here’s the twist, Leinster’s star-studded squad was absolutely demolished by Bordeaux in the Champions Cup final.
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen boldly declares they’ve studied that defeat in forensic detail and have hatched a plan. If they somehow pull off the near-impossible and topple the Irish giants, the path to the final becomes considerably smoother for all three South African sides.
Saturday kicks off with three Mzansi outfits armed with world-class playmakers, home advantage for two of them, and genuine belief they can go all the way. The fly-halves have delivered all season long.
Now comes the time to deliver when it matters most.
Die Papier has all the kick off times for the matches this weekend
