URC Prediction – Stormers v Bulls

Stormers v Bulls

The old enemies were meant to meet in the opening round but the match had to be postponed and will enjoy the full spotlight as the only URC showdown of the weekend.

The Stormers are back from a fruitless two-week overseas tour, while the Bulls have won their last two games against Stade Francais and the Lions.

John Dobson’s decision to rest the Springbok quartet of Deon Fourie, Ben-Jason Dixon, Manie Libbok and Warrick Gelant against Racing 92 didn’t have the desired result in Dublin.

While the reasoning to prioritise the URC clash against a Leinster side sans their slew of Six Nations stars over the Investec Champions Cup clash was sound, it ended in a double blow as they were knocked out of the European competitions and went down 36-12 to the Irish giants.

The Capetonians gave it a hearty go in the first half, trailing 15-7 at the break, but they were blown away in the second as the undefeated log leaders flexed their unrivalled depth. Key to their downfall, which they’ll look to rectify this weekend, is the fact that they were starved of territory (31%) and possession (40%).

What’s more, they’ll have to focus on their discipline after conceding no less than 17 penalties, while they need to sort out their lingering lineout issues. Losing Libbok to what is feared could be a season-ending knee injury is a huge blow for the Capetonians, who are in 12th place, and their playoff hopes, as they’re a different team without their attack-minded general.

Meanwhile, the third-placed Bulls’ last outing – the Jukskei derby – was a real test of character for them and they passed with flying colours.

A lot of problem-solving went into turning the tables after they had gone into the break trailing after dominating most of the first half and falling further behind early in the second half. This while losing co-captains Ruan Nortje and Elrigh Louw to nasty knee injuries.

They may have been wasteful in the first 40 when they made a number of unforced errors, particularly in the red zone, but even with the massive double blow, they never looked panicked.

Instead, starters like Man of the Match Marcell Coetzee and Cobus Wiese came alive and super-subs like Willie le Roux and Akker van der Merwe injected their energy, experience and class off the bench to regain the lead for the visitors and see them triumph comfortably by 35-22 in the end.

The positives, which included David Kriel delivering as a back-up goal-kicker and winning the aerial battle, far outweighed the negatives and will put them in the necessary combative mood for the clash against their arch-rivals.

The Stormers have won seven of the eight North-South derbies that have fallen under the URC banner, including the 2021-22 Grand Final, with the Bulls finally breaking their duck in the most recent clash at Loftus Versfeld last March.

The Stormers are always tough to topple in Cape Town but all signs point to the men from Pretoria prevailing.

Prediction: Bulls by 5.