The Bulls are bracing themselves for a desperate Stormers side to pitch up at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon in the final North-South derby of the United Rugby Championship round-robin stage.
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The final SA derby of the United Rugby Championship round-robin season could be the toughest of them all as two desperate teams clash at Loftus Versfeld with the top eight playoffs looming on the horizon.
The Bulls go into the game with the confidence built from a four-game winning streak, while if the Stormers lose, it will be their fourth consecutive defeat.
The outcome of the match between the eighth-placed Bulls and the sixth-placed Stormers is vital for both, albeit for slightly different reasons, as Bulls coach Johan Ackermann describes it.
“We do expect a desperate team,” Ackermann said.
“Any time you start losing games, you come under pressure, and you become desperate. We were in that position ourselves,” the coach said, alluding to the seven-game losing run the Bulls endured earlier in the URC.
“We’re still desperate because we’re not in a good position on the table yet, so we need to keep performing. But they will definitely be up for the challenge.”
Since the beginning of the URC, the Stormers have won nine of the north-south derbies, with the Bulls winning just twice. Among those Stormers wins are victories in the 2022 final and the 2023 quarterfinal, so the visitors today will not be intimidated.
History tells us that the North-South derbies can ignore current form, but if the Stormers do win, it will be one of the great upsets in the long-standing rivalry. On paper, the Bulls have the superior pack, and their Springbok-laden bomb squad threatens to take the game away from the Stormers late in the game.
Date: Saturday, March 14
Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Kick-off: 2pm
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Morne Ferreira (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Teams
Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Alu Tshakweni, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Zak Burger, 23 Willie le Roux.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Bench: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Paul de Villiers, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Imad Khan, 22 Jonathan Roche, 23 Wandisile Simelane.