The South African rugby franchises are preparing for a baptism of fire this weekend as they battle it out in the Champions and Challenge Cup competitions for the first time.
United Rugby Championship (URC) champs the Stormers, URC runners-up the Bulls and the Sharks will all be competing in the headlining Champions Cup, while the Lions and Cheetahs will be in action in the second division Challenge Cup.
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The Stormers and Cheetahs will be facing the stiffest challenge in their opening games, while the Bulls, Sharks and Lions will have a good chance to get off to a positive start.
Champions Cup
The Stormers will be up against Clermont in France, and with French teams traditionally doing well at home they will be in for a tough start in front of a partisan home crowd, however they are expected to be boosted by a number of Springbok stars returning to their ranks for the match.
The Bulls have a potentially tricky encounter against French side Lyon, who are having a decent season in the Top 14, but playing them at Loftus on the Highveld, should give the home side the upper hand and they should be targeting a first game win.
The Sharks have the most interesting match of the weekend as they take on English Premiership high flyers Harlequins, who sit third on their log, in Durban and if they don’t improve from their last two URC games they could end up on the losing side.
Challenge Cup
The Lions arguably have the easiest clash of the weekend as they take on the Dragons, who they beat in the URC a week and a half ago, at Ellis Park once again and they should be gunning for a full house of points and strong start to the competition.
The Cheetahs face an interesting entry into the Challenge Cup, as part of the deal for them to take part was that they are based in Europe, and they will be using the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma as their home.
Their first game is a tricky encounter against Section Paloise in Pau, France, and they will be looking to the duo of Frans Steyn and Ruan Pienaar, who both have extensive experience playing in Europe, to guide them.
In all it is set to be an interesting introduction to the Champions and Challenge Cup competitions for South African sides and they will all be eager to try and get off to the best possible start.
