Cracking the Republic's code

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SPOTLIGHT: After the excitement and drama of the year-end internationals - and with just one Test remaining - the United Rugby Championship returns this week with Round Seven action.

Given South Africa's #1 ranking on the global stage, the focus will shift to the franchises from the Republic.

Winning in South Africa remains a huge challenge.

Seven of the eight league games played there so far this season have resulted in home wins over European visitors.

All of which makes Glasgow Warriors' achievement in beating the Stormers 28-17 in Stellenbosch in Round Six all the more notable.

It was the stuff of champions from the Scots - with skipper Sione Tuipulotu delivering a try-scoring Player of the Match performance in a bonus point win.

But, apart from that solitary defeat, the South African franchises have been unbeatable on home soil, while they also look to be finding a formula for success on the road.

Between them, they have won six of their 12 away matches this term, with the Bulls and the Lions both picking up two victories on their travels.

Those two have been leading the challenge from the Republic, each winning four of their five matches to lie third and fourth respectively.

In contrast, the Stormers - title winners in 2022 - were bottom of the table at one point and currently lie down in 13th with a fair bit of ground to make up.

It is worth remembering the South African sides do all have a game in hand as the derbies scheduled for the opening weekend were postponed because of a clash with the Currie Cup Final.

Those games - Stormers versus Bulls and Sharks against the Lions - have now been rescheduled for February and March respectively.

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Record attendance

That came in Round Four when a crowd of 80,468 - the biggest in the league (Pro12/14 & URC) history - watched the Irish derby between Leinster and Munster at Croke Park.

That comfortably surpassed the previous best of 68,262 for the Judgement Day Welsh doubleheader at the Millennium Stadium back in 2016.

The highest figure for an individual match had been 56,344 for the 2023 URC Final in Cape Town where Munster beat the Stormers.

As for a regular season fixture, the previous best was the 51,700 who turned out for Leinster versus Munster at the Lansdowne Road in 2014, with the highest recent figure having been 50,026 for the meeting between the Bulls and the Stormers at Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld in March this year.

The Croke Park record-breaker saw Leinster win 26-12 with the huge crowd seeming to inspire them as they roared out of the blocks with three tries in the opening 13 minutes.

Broadcast boost

The first four rounds saw a 10 percent year-on-year growth, despite two big South African derbies having been postponed.

Last season saw a new record for URC broadcast audiences of 47.7 million and it looks as though things are heading in the right direction this term.

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Leinster leading the way

They have won all six of their URC matches so far, picking up 29 match points out of a possible 30, putting them six points clear of reigning champions Glasgow Warriors at the top of the table.

Along the way, Lee Cullen's side have scored 185 points and crossed for 28 tries, while they have also been particularly impressive in terms of their defensive work at the breakdown, winning 43 turnovers.

After bonus point victories over Edinburgh Rugby, Dragons RFC, Benetton Rugby, Munster Rugby and Connacht Rugby, they then faced a top-of-the-table clash with the unbeaten Emirates Lions.

It wasn't to be a sixth straight maximum, but it was another solid win as they defeated the visitors from Johannesburg 24-6 to confirm their status as the competition's front-runners.

The question now is whether they can kick on from here and claim their first trophy since 2021.

Skipper Caelan Doris, who has been in outstanding form, makes it clear there is huge motivation within the group.

"We have been knocking at the door and fallen at the final hurdle three years in a row, which is tricky, and there have been some pretty grim days off the back of that," admitted the No 8.

"But there is also still a ton of belief within the squad and there's a load of motivation to get better."

So be warned, Leinster is on a mission and is the team to beat.