Investec Champions Cup: Roadtrip is Bulls & Stormers big test

South Africa’s leading rugby franchises have sent an early warning to Europe’s elite, but the real measure of their Investec Champions Cup credentials will come when the Bulls and Stormers are tested away from home.

Both teams launched their campaigns with emphatic bonus-point victories, the Bulls scoring 56 points against Stade Français at Loftus Versfeld and the Stormers putting 49 past Bristol Bears in Cape Town.

Speaking on the Keo & Zels Show, Mark Keohane believes the performances reflected a significant shift in the South African approach to Europe’s premier club competition.

Where previous campaigns were often complicated by squad rotation and competing URC priorities, Keohane believes there is now a genuine determination to challenge for the Champions Cup title.

“I thought it was important that we made a statement, regardless of how we made it in Pretoria and Cape Town,” Keohane said.

“If you’re going to bring a B team here, you’re going to take 50.”

The Bulls and Stormers delivered on that expectation, although both benefited from facing weakened visiting teams.

For Zelim Nel, the challenge now is to reproduce those performances against stronger opposition in unfamiliar conditions.

“I think it’s the on-the-road part. I don’t really think it’s the power of the opposition. It’s the conditions factor,” Nel said.

“We know the Stormers and Bulls have got massive power and skill and ability in those squads.”

Nel pointed to the ability of European teams such as Bordeaux and Northampton to travel to South Africa and win as the standard the local franchises must match.

Keohane echoed those sentiments, urging the Bulls and Stormers to select their strongest available teams for their biggest away fixtures rather than sacrificing European opportunities to preserve resources for domestic competition.

He highlighted Bordeaux’s opening-round 36-36 draw at Gloucester as an example of the importance of fielding a strong side on the road.

The defending champions needed outstanding performances from Maxime Lucu and Louis Bielle-Biarrey to escape Kingsholm with two competition points.

Elsewhere, Montpellier’s victory at Bath, Glasgow’s away success and Leinster’s impressive start demonstrated the importance of securing results outside home territory.

Keohane believes the revised try-scoring bonus-point system, which requires teams to finish with at least three more tries than their opponents, will make those results even more valuable when playoff positions are determined.

The South African sides have already collected maximum points from their opening fixtures, putting themselves in a promising position ahead of the remaining pool matches.

However, the next significant examination will come in December, when the Stormers travel to France to face defending champions Bordeaux.

For Keohane, that encounter represents an opportunity to establish whether the Cape Town side can genuinely challenge for European silverware.

“If you can win in Bordeaux, for example, with the Stormers, you can win a final in Lyon regardless of who you’re playing,” he said.

Nel agreed that the opening round offered considerable encouragement, but insisted the strongest evidence of South Africa’s progress would come from winning consistently abroad.

The Bulls and Stormers have demonstrated their ability to dominate at home. Their next challenge is proving they can do it in Europe’s toughest venues.