URC got conference system right

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The Vodacom URC South African Shield can became a sought-after prize for our teams in a way the Super Rugby conference trophy never was, writes SIMON BORCHARDT.

Here's a rugby quiz question: Which South African team won the most Super Rugby titles? Easy, right? The Bulls won three and no other SA side got their hands on the trophy.

Here's another: Which South African team won the most Super Rugby conference titles? Much tougher, right? If you knew the answer – that the Stormers and Lions won three each – I'm impressed because I had to go look it up.

From what I can recall, winning the SA conference in Super Rugby didn't matter much, it was all about winning the tournament itself. So why does lifting the SA Shield in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship seem to mean more to players and coaches, if not yet the fans?

One reason, I think, is that Super Rugby's format changed so often, from 12 to 14 teams, and then to 15 and 18 and back to 15 in a conference format. The winners of the three conferences also occupied the top three spots on the overall log no matter how many log points they accumulated, adding to the confusion.

From 2011 to 2015, the SA conference included five SA teams (Bulls, Cheetahs, Lions, Sharks and Stormers). Matches against all opposition (local and international) counted and for the record, the conference winners were the Stormers (2011, 2012 and 2015), Bulls (2013) and Sharks (2014).

In 2016 and 2017, Super Rugby was an 18-team competition. The teams were split into two regional groups – Australasian and South African, with the latter including the Kings as well as teams from Argentina (Jaguares) and Japan (Sunwolves). The Lions won the South African group in both those years before going on to lose the final. (As an aside, the Lions reached the playoffs in 2017 without having to face New Zealand opposition in the league stage, which shows how ridiculous the format became.)

In 2018, Super Rugby returned to 15 teams and the Lions won a South African conference that included the Jaguares (who finished second) before losing a third successive final. The Jaguares then won the 2019 South African conference, the Covid lockdown shut down the 2020 competition after seven rounds, and that was that.

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When the URC adopted a conference system ahead of its inaugural 2021-22 season, I expected similar criticism from fans, players and coaches. No one, though, seems to have a problem with it. Why?

Firstly, the Currie Cup has increasingly become a developmental tournament and no longer determines the best team in the country, so the winners of the SA Shield can rightly claim that crown (although the Cheetahs will feel aggrieved at not being given a chance to compete for it).

And secondly, the URC has got the conference format spot-on.

The SA Shield only includes South African teams (this sounds obvious but Sanzaar managed to stuff it up).

For the first three seasons of the URC, Shield logs included all matches played – local derbies and cross-conference – but from the 2024-25 season, only those played between teams in each conference count.

This has made the SA Shield even more of a domestic competition within a competition than it was before, and it's importance should grow further as the URC develops a longer history with the SA rugby public.

I don't ever expect to see one of our teams wildly celebrating a Shield title, not with the URC playoffs to come and a much more significant title up for grabs. But maybe in a decade we'll all be able to answer the question: Who's won the most SA Shields?

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Photo: Athena Pictures/Getty Images

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