South Africa: All-South African URC Final Set for Cape Town After Stormers and Bulls Advance

11 June 2022
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
analysis By Craig Ray

South African rugby's move to Europe appears to have been the right decision after the Bulls and Stormers qualified for the United Rugby Championship final.

The inaugural United Rugby Championship final will have a familiar flavour for South Africans when the Stormers meet the Bulls in next week's showpiece after two dramatic semifinals.

On Friday, the Bulls upset the odds by edging Irish giants Leinster - winner of the four PRO14s in a row before the tournament morphed into the URC - 27-26 in Dublin.

And on Saturday, it was the Stormers who secured a dramatic, late 17-15 win over Belfast's Ulster at a raucous DHL Stadium in Cape Town.

The outcome is an early indication and vindication that South African Rugby's decision to align with Europe was the right one. The inaugural URC will have a South African champion, which will give dissenters in Europe who are unhappy with South Africa's involvement, something to mull over.

"This is confirmation that we are up there with the top teams in Europe," Stormers coach John Dobson said. "The Stormers, Bulls and Sharks are stacking up and this is a definitive statement, for sure."

Stormers win

Fullback Warrick Gelant scored a try...

Read the full story on Daily Maverick.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2022 Daily Maverick. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.