All three South African teams are in with a chance of reaching the Investec Champions Cup round of 16 despite disappointing defeats over the weekend.
Investec Champions Cup
No one quite saw this coming. The STORMERS sent a much-changed team to London to take on struggling Harlequins, but it is still hard to come to terms with Sunday’s stunning 61-10 reverse.
The previously unbeaten Stormers were simply blown off the park in the opening exchanges and it was more Harlem Globetrotters than Harlequins as the Premiership side danced, weaved and befuddled a hopelessly outclassed Stormers. Nine tries tells its own story of a demolition job at The Stoop.
The only silver lining for the Stormers is that the pressure valve of their unbeaten start to the season has finally been released and they can now regroup and focus on the remainder of the season which still holds much promise.
The defeat means the Stormers drop to third in Pool 3 behind Leinster and Harlequins. The Cape side hosts the Leicester Tigers in the final pool game. The Tigers recorded their first win in the competition with a 57-14 mauling of Bayonne at Welford Road on Saturday.
MORE: Disappointed Dobbo fumes at Stormers hiding
The Stormers should still qualify but it is not as clearcut as it was just a few weeks ago. The defeat to Quins also did serious damage to their points difference which is now the second-worst in Pool 3. In the event of teams finishing the pool stage on the same number of points, points difference will determine who progresses to the round of 16.
DHL Stormers head coach John Dobson pulls no punches after his side’s loss to Harlequins
“Humiliating…It’s a poor performance and a little bit embarrassing from us.”
#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/ATmzyjIyix
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) January 11, 2026
The SHARKS were always going to be up against it when they sent a team shorn of Springboks to Manchester where they lost a tightly-fought encounter 26-10 to the Sale Sharks.
It was a plucky performance from a young Sharks outfit and time will tell the wisdom of team selection for the fixture which leaves the Durban-based side second from bottom but still in with a chance of making the top four and qualifying for the playoffs.
JP: Sharks showed fight for 80 minutes
The Sharks sit fifth in Pool 1 with five points and within touching distance of Toulouse in fourth with seven points.
Counting in the Sharks’ favour – and likely what drove the decision-making process in terms of team selection for the Sale clash – is that they host winless Clermont in their final pool game. Win that and they could still be set for the round of 16, depending on what Toulouse do against second-placed Sale, who have already qualified.
But confidence is a fragile thing and the Sharks, after starting off encouragingly under the interim stewardship of Pietersen, have now lost two on the bounce.
Where to from here for the beleaguered BULLS? A Springbok-laden team fell to a chaotic and disjointed 61-49 loss to the Bristol Bears at Loftus to leave grown men sobbing in their beers in the blistering Pretoria heat.
The visitors were everything the Bulls were not – clinical, efficient, accurate and disciplined.
Johan Ackermann is a very likeable character with a solid coaching record and a very strong faith conviction, but he is struggling for answers when it comes to getting coherent and consistent performances out of this team. It is now seven losses on the trot.
A week after the Bulls travelled to Cape Town and went toe-to-toe with an unbeaten Stormers at a sold-out Newlands, the Bulls reverted to type and were abysmal in front of their own fans.
ACKERS: Bulls players felt scoreboard pressure
The Bulls sit bottom of Pool 4 with two points but face Pau away in their final pool game. Pau recorded a 47-38 win away over the Scarlets – their first victory in the competition – in round three to jump into fourth and the last qualifying place.
The Bulls’ destiny in the Champions Cup is set to come down to the clash at the Stade du Hameau late on Friday night.
EPCR Challenge Cup
The LIONS are the only South African side to record a win this weekend and who would have bet money on that a few weeks ago.
After a late Vodacom URC win over the Sharks in Durban, Ivan van Rooyen’s resurgent side won another thrilling encounter against Lyon at Ellis Park.
The home side had to survive a terrific second-half fightback to emerge 42-33 victors for their first win of the European campaign. It was no less than they deserved, having been on the receiving end of a few cruel losses this season already, most notably in the final minute away to Newcastle.
MORE: Lions laud Batho’s instant impact
The win moved the Lions up to fourth and into the qualifying places in Pool 2. Benetton and Newcastle are way out in front, followed by Perpignan and the Lions on six and the Dragons with four. Even Lyon on two points are not completely out of it and there is still all to play for in the final round of fixtures.
The CHEETAHS’ playoff hopes ended when their match against Ulster was called off shortly before kick-off on Sunday due to the field being deemed unplayable. EPCR later awarded the visitors a 28-0 bonus-point win.
The fixture had already been moved from the Cheetahs’ home base of the NRCA Stadium in Amsterdam to behind closed doors at Dukes Rugby in ‘s-Hertogenbosch due to the brutally cold conditions sweeping across northern Europe.
MORE: Unplayable pitch ends Cheetahs’ playoff hopes
It leaves the Cheetahs rooted to the bottom of Pool 3 on zero points and playing for pride against Racing 92 in France on Sunday.
Investec Champions Cup Round 3 results
Castres 20 Bath 43
Edinburgh 26 Gloucester 24
Bulls 49 Bristol Bears 61
Clermont 21 Glasgow Warriors 33
Leinster 25 La Rochelle 24
Sale Sharks 26 Sharks 10
Scarlets 38 Pau 47
Leicester Tigers 57 Bayonne 14
Harlequins 61 Stormers 10
Toulon 27 Munster 25
Bordeaux 50 Northampton Saints 28
Saracens 20 Toulouse 14
Investec Champions Cup Round 4 fixtures (SA times)
Friday, 16 January
Pau vs Bulls (10pm)
Bath vs Edinburgh (10pm)
Saturday, 17 January
Sharks vs Clermont (3pm)
Bayonne vs Leinster (5:15pm)
Stormers vs Leicester Tigers (5:15pm)
Toulouse vs Sale Sharks (7:30pm)
Munster vs Castres (7:30pm)
Gloucester vs Toulon (10pm)
Sunday, 18 January
Bristol Bears vs Bordeaux (3pm)
Northampton Saints vs Scarlets (5:15pm)
La Rochelle vs Harlequins (5:15pm)
Glasgow Warriors vs Saracens (7:30pm)
EPCR Challenge Cup Round 3 results
Stade Français 27 Exeter Chiefs 25
Montauban 28 Black Lion 31
Newcastle 26 Perpignon 19
Lions 42 Lyon 33
Cardiff 32 Racing 13
Benetton 74 Dragons 21
Cheetahs 0 Ulster 28 (match cancelled)
Montpellier 33 Connacht 31
Zebre 23 Ospreys 19
EPCR Challenge Cup Round 4 fixtures (SA times)
Friday, 16 January
Dragons vs Newcastle (10pm)
Saturday, 17 January
Ulster vs Stade Français (3pm)
Black Lion vs Zebre Parma (3pm)
Perpignan vs Lions (7:30pm)
Connacht vs Montauban (10pm)
Ospreys vs Montpellier (10pm)
Sunday, 18 January
Exeter vs Cardiff (3pm)
Lyon vs Benetton (3pm)
Racing vs Cheetahs (7:30pm)
Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images
The post State of Euro cups: It’s touch and go for SA trio appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.