The colossal battle – Bulls and Stormers – clash this Saturday at Newlands and sees a heightened feud in the South African conference. Stormers are riding top of the table while the Bulls’ recent form and crushing victory over former champions The Reds makes the Newlands match-up a mouth-watering prospect.
Bulls play hard - a part of their winning culture
If the three-time champions beat The Stormers, they’ll go top in the South African conference. Bulls coach Ludeke has a huge respect for the Cape Town franchise and the amount of promise and success they have seen for the past two seasons. Bulls will start the fifteen that smashed The Reds 61 – 8 in Pretoria last week. The contest, however, will be seen as a kicking contest in my opinion. Steyn, inconsistent in the few games and slowly finding touch, will have to keep up with Stormers’ man Joe Pietersen. Steyn was off form against The Blues and his missed penalties probably was the chief factor for The Bulls loss. Pietersen has been fairly good but has seen bouts of promise diminish when needed. It’s all about the forward play and the kicking game for territory. With the amount of talent on the pitch on Saturday, there could be sprinting spurts in attack but play is likely to belong to the boys up front, rolling forward and keeping the short phases going.
Habana is alwaysa threat on the wing and he will be hoping to grab a win against his former team.
This will also be an opportunity for the Bulls to sport their pink away kit – but don’t let that put you off their form. The Stormers have the Newlands crowd so I am expecting a tight match in the end. It’s the biggest match of the weekend and probably sparks more attention than the opening between The Sharks and Bulls in Pretoria. The North/South derby will see South Africa’s two top teams fight away to grab top spot. Stormers and Bulls can also boast the best defensive teams in the competition so it will be interesting to see which roaring backline will break through – but points could lie in the hands (or boots) of Steyn and Pietersen. Bulls have a winning culture – the exact reason they grab wins after a disappointing showing against The Blues. Stormers remain unbeaten and are looking a side that have great chemistry with an impressive, star-studded backline.
Expect a fierce competition down South.
Bulls for me. I could be biased.
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