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Stormers and Munster lead the way in the early United Rugby Championship table but there is plenty of drama elsewhere as the Italians once agains showed their strength at homes, 3 teams got nilled and the Bulls suffered their first setback under Ackerman. Let’s see what we learned…
After a shaky but passable start for the Pretorians in the first 2 rounds of the URC, reality bit hard up in Belfast as they flopped to a limp 28-7 defeat. This has triggered deep frustration (and even anger) amongst some fans.
Whilst there are things to be unhappy about, this is a team in transition. Johan Ackerman is still getting his feet under the table, a trip to Ulster is never easy and throwing the Springboks back in cold made a recipe for a tough night. 99 points conceded in 3 games is a bad stat but it's not panic stations yet - give them half a season before going too crazy.
It's never pretty watching teams get nilled but to see it happen 3 times over the weekend was particularly brutal. The Dragons, to some extent, accepted their fate up in Glasgow as they heavily rotated with one eye on their derby next week whilst Zebre also made 12 changes for their trip to Bridgend.
The Scarlets though have no such excuses, having had several first-choice combinations with proven ability out on the field. The Stormers played well enough, particularly up front, but the men from Llanelli were as woeful as they've ever been under Peel. The injury crisis at lock doesn't help, but it was also totally foreseeable when their senior squad contains just 4 specialist 2nd rows with everyone fit and firing. Some serious soul searching needed down West.
Muster are 3 from 3 to start the URC but they needed Cardiff to miss all their conversions in round 2 and former player Ben Healey to miss one this weekend to make that happen. To be fair, Munster also missed all their kicks this weekend but they've needed late scores in both home games so far.
We'll only know what it means in a few rounds time. Will we be looking back saying it was a good team finding a way to win? Or will we be saying the warning signs were showing early? One suspects the answer is directly related to the fitness of star halfbacks Jack Crowley and Craig Casey, who elevate this side every time they play.
So far the South African teams have played 8 games up north and won 1 - the Stormers' hammering of the Scarlets. It's early days yet but 0 from 3 for Lions and Sharks is grim, especially given the fact one played the Dragons and one played the (admittedly much improved) Zebre.
Meanwhile, Bulls and Stormers players might as well be renting apartments in the UK with many of them having played a game with the ‘Boks in London, followed by 3 URC games up north, followed by 5 more tests in November and December and then - in the case of the Stormers - 2 more club games in the north before finally playing again in South Africa come December the 13th. Home sick, Sacha?
In years gone by a trip to Italy used to be a guaranteed bonus point win, but these days Benetton and Zebre are both 2 from 2 at home - and in convincing fashion. Stormers are top of the league with 3 from 3 but now face back to back games on Italian soil; should they win both they will be well on their way to securing a top 4 spot.
The Italians may not become kings of the URC this season but they might just be the king makers: strong home form and the ability to nick the odd away will will have coaches across the league rethinking their rotation plans. It's just what the competition needed!
| # | Team | PL | W | L | D | PD | BP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  DHL Stormers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 |  Munster Rugby | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 |  Glasgow Warriors | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 63 | 3 | 11 |
| 4 |  Cardiff Rugby | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 11 |
| 5 |  Ulster Rugby | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 2 | 10 |
| 6 |  Vodacom Bulls | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 7 |  Benetton Treviso | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 09 |
| 8 |  Zebre Rugby | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | -19 | 1 | 09 |
| 9 |  Connacht Rugby | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 06 |
| 10 |  Leinster Rugby | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -17 | 2 | 06 |
| 11 |  Ospreys | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -5 | 1 | 05 |
| 12 |  Edinburgh Rugby | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -4 | 3 | 03 |
| 13 |  Hollywoodbets Sharks | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -42 | 0 | 02 |
| 14 |  Dragons | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -70 | 0 | 02 |
| 15 |  Emirates Lions | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -41 | 1 | 01 |
| 16 |  Scarlets | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -47 | 0 | 00 |
