Rugby World Cup-winning former Springboks coach Jake White has compared the Champions Cup to Test matches, as South African clubs debut in the competition on Saturday.
"The Champions Cup is the equivalent of the Champions League in football - competing in it is like playing a Test every Saturday," he told AFP.
They switched to Europe and debuted in the United Rugby Championship last season with the Stormers beating the Bulls in a thrilling final. "We will be coming up against teams packed with internationals. European teams do not just draw from the player pool of their country - they have stars from all the top rugby nations.
"French Top 14 referees interpret the laws a certain way, while their counterparts in England, Ireland and Scotland sometimes see things differently. "You play on a bone-hard pitch in 30 degrees heat one weekend and experience biting cold, fierce wind and torrential rain seven days later," said Bulls fly-half Chris Smith.
The Bulls, Sharks and Stormers have 70 million rand salary caps per season for 50 strong squads, less than half the amount available to French clubs.
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