3 Key Storylines To Track In Round 7 Of The United Rugby Championship
3 Key Storylines To Track In Round 7 Of The United Rugby Championship
Here's a preview of Round 7 of the BKT United Rugby Championship, as Ulster and Leinster clash, and Munster begins life without Graham Rowntree.
Back for one night only!
Well, not precisely, but Round 7 of the United Rugby Championship will make the only round of league action for two months.
Following the international break, the URC will return this weekend for Round 7, before taking a two-week break for the start of the Investec Champions Cup.
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Getting underway this evening (Friday) with two matches, the URC will have a full slate of games, albeit the Irish provinces will be without their international stars, who will be tackling the Wallabies Saturday afternoon.
Ahead of kickoff, here are three storylines to track in this weekend’s action:
Potential Rugby Stars To Debut
Hyperbole or not?
Munster and Edinburgh are set to unleash two prodigious talents this weekend, kicking it off with the Season 2 champions, who welcome to the fold former Ireland U20 captain Evan O’Connell for his URC debut.
Making his first senior appearance against the All Blacks XV, O’Connell, who is the nephew of former Munster and Ireland captain, Paul, long has been touted as the next coming of, well, his uncle.
A natural-born leader with all of the skills and physicality required to be a world-class lock, O’Connell is one of several exciting Munster youngsters who will form the backbone of the Irish giants’ squad going forward.
Across the Irish Sea, Edinburgh is set to unleash the ultra-exciting backrow talent Freddy Douglas this weekend.
Coming in for his debut in the unique position of having already represented Scotland at senior level, Douglas is the biggest prospect in Scottish Rugby in 2024.
Still just 19-years-old, Douglas is raw, but he proved in his debut against Portugal that he is more than capable of holding his own at the top level.
Taking his place on the bench alongside several experienced operators, Douglas could provide the boost Edinburgh needs to get its season back on track.
Springboks Showdown
On South Africa’s stunning Indian Ocean coastline, a battle of two Springbok-laden squads will produce collisions that will be felt the world over when the Sharks host the Stormers.
Returning from international duty, both sides have named several international stars in their match-day squads.
For the Sharks, Springboks captain Siya Kolisi will lead the men in black, while for the Stormers, superstar fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu makes his return from the injury he sustained in the Rugby Championship.
This clash will pit two sides that have the potential to win the league head-to-head in what feels like a lose-or-go-home scenario.
For the Sharks, a loss will cost them the opportunity to jump into the top 8, while for the Stormers, another loss will mean they will need to win just about all of their remaining fixtures to sneak into the playoffs.
New Coach – New Fortunes?
Two sides enter Round 7 with head coaches different from the ones who guided them through Round 6, as Munster and the Dragons made changes at the top of their organizations before the international break.
For Munster, their shock split from Graham Rowntree just a year removed from their first title in 12 years caught just about everyone off guard.
For the Dragons, their move away from Dai Flanagan was perhaps less shocking, given the Welsh side’s results, but nonetheless, it has cast uncertainty over the rest of their season.
Whether these moves will have a similar effect to the NFL’s post-coach firing bump remains to be seen, but Round 7 should give us an indication as to which way these two sides are trending.
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