Fluctuating fortunes are what keep the public talking and this year sees the possibility of the South African conference being shuffled dramatically from last season. Departing stars, new signings, returning heroes and first-round injuries will see the final log looking remarkably different.
The Lions’ steady descent from competition favourites to possible wooden-spooners has been distressing for their fans to watch. The Lions’ era of dominance may well be defined by Kwagga Smith’s red card in the 2017 final. That was the closest the Lions have come to the big prize, and watching their mauling by the Jaguares one feels it may be a long time before they get another chance.
Having lost inspirational captain Warren Whitely to injury, Malcolm Marx and Kwagga Smith to big pay cheques and Aphiwe Dyantyi to doping, the Lions look thin on trusted talent. They have a shot at getting points on the board against a Reds team that threw away a victory against the Brumbies, but anything else but a much-improved win will keep the fans coming back to Ellis Park.
The Sharks are the first South African team to play on Kiwi soil this season when they travel to the Forsyth Barr Stadium and the awaiting Highlanders. Brimming with confidence from their tough win against the Bulls, they will see the Highlanders as unseasonably vulnerable. The Highlanders too have lost key operators and the Sharks are confident travellers.
The bare minimum achievement of the South African teams will be to stop the Jaguares winning the conference again. Los Pumas in disguise began confidently and Saturday’s visitors to Buenos Aires, the Hurricanes, will be victim number two if they fail to show up two weeks in a row. Agustin Creevy and his men have made their home games bankable wins and with a few customary victories in Australia and South Africa, expect them to be chasing advancement in the playoffs again this season.
The coming round’s main event is between the teams that finished highest and lowest of the local sides last season. Based on their crushing of the Hurricanes last Saturday the Stormers are well placed to replace the Bulls as the top South African dog. The Bulls were shaky and disjointed against the Sharks but if their handling were more accurate, the result would surely have been different. Expect fireworks at Newlands as the old North/ South enemies clash for domestic bragging rights.
