After long Covid effects, rugby finds itself again as URC gains street cred

The Bulls flexed their on and off-field muscle to make the URC semi-finals over the Sharks. Their fans gave the new URC tournament the biggest stamp of approval, gracing Loftus in their sky blues as they used to during their Super Rugby heyday.

It was the day rugby could breathe unassisted for the first time since suffering long Covid effects of fan-less parks, letting out a huge sign and a reverberating roar as loud as Bulls fans when Chris Smith scored the match-winning drop-goal at the buzzer.

Last year, the pandemic took the life out of the British & Irish Lions series, causing irreparable financial and emotional damage to the pre-historic spectacle.

It relegated the much-loved domestic game to "preparation series" meaninglessness. But this quarter-final, which has come to define Jake White's time in Pretoria, came like the doctor's words when discharging you after reading your last test results: "The cancer is benign."

It was a day when a new tournament gained its street cred.

READ| 84th-minute drop goal sees Bulls sink Sharks in epic Loftus knockout

It happened by coincidence but it was fitting that the Bulls were the team to usher the United Rugby Championship (URC) fan buy-in. After all, the sky blues were SA's chief emissaries in Super Rugby, winning three titles, the most of any, before SA Rugby's withdrawal.

The Bulls became the first South African team into the URC semi-finals with their 30-27 win over the Sharks.

The URC came about as South Africa's desperate attempt to move the country's rugby to calmer waters, friendlier time zones and deeper pockets.

But no amount of boardroom bargaining and marketing can get you what a rollicking Bulls performance in front of their flag-waving, Kaptein-singing fans can give you.

T