Durban — Stormers coach John Dobson must have been wondering if someone was pulling his leg when he was handed his team’s draw for next season’s Champions Cup.
The Pool 4 of the competition could not be tougher if someone had deliberately tried to make it so. It really is rotten luck for the Stormers to be drawn alongside the recent finalists, Leinster and La Rochelle (the champions) plus England giants Leicester and Sale, plus Parisian club Stade Francais.
Sale were in the recent final of the England Premiership and Leicester were Champions Cup semi-finalists.
The Bulls have a much better draw while the Sharks, relegated to the Challenge Cup, have a breeze. They will play last season’s bottom URC team in Zebre, the Dragons and unglamorous French clubs Pau and Oyonax.
The Lions are in the same second-tier competition as the Sharks and have it considerably tougher. They have a tough English side in Newcastle, top French teams Perpignan and Montpellier, and Italy’s leading side, Benetton.
Both competitions will kick off on December 8.
SA teams’ pools
Stormers: La Rochelle, Leicester, Sale, Stade Francais (Not playing: Leinster)
Bulls: Saracens, Lyon, Bordeaux, Bristol (Not playing: Connacht)
Sharks: Invitee 1, Zebre, Oyonax, Dragons, Pau
Lions: Benetton, Perpignan, Newcastle, Montpellier, Ospreys
IOL Sport
