Bulls trample Saracens, Stormers B Team show fight in Welford Road, Nienaber already influencing Leinster

RugbyBits

Shaun and Thala review the first round of Champions Cup and Challenge Cup games - a weekend of mostly positive results and performances for the South African teams.

We start with the Bulls dominant win over Saracens at Loftus. We discuss Cameron Hanekom’s rise as the next big thing in South Africa rugby and the dangerous Bulls back 3.

We then go to Welford Road where a mostly second string Stormers outfit nearly shocked Leicester at home. There were encouraging performances from three likes of Keke Morabe, Jurie Matthee and Sti Sithole, but Handré Pollard and Jasper Wiese led Leicester to the bonus point win.

We go through each of the other Champions Cup games. We note Leinster using the Jacques Nienaber rush defence to finally get a win over the champions, La Rochelle. We talk about some of the surprise results from the weekend, including Exeter beating Toulon and Bayonne getting a draw with Munster and finally talk about the entertaining game of the weekend - the Siya Kolisi-led Racing being beaten by Harlequins.

We also review victories from the Sharks, Lions and Cheetahs in the Challenge Cup. We finish off by talking about the Cape Town SVNS, the dominance of the Australian women’s team, the Argentines breaking the pool and what reforms may be needed for the South African women’s team.