For once, the Stormers will be backing the Bulls
The narrative on the SA north/south derby clashes might easily dupe some into thinking that the tussle for United Rugby Championship (URC) supremacy is a series of battles between the Stormers and Bulls, but of course that is not the case.
Indeed, this weekend the Cape team find themselves in the rare position of being supporters of the Bulls, who they beat in the inaugural final to become the first winners of the trophy. The Bulls are travelling to Belfast to play Ulster in a game that will affect the Stormers’ quest for a top-two finish.
As it stands, the Stormers have a five-point advantage on third-placed Ulster with three games to go.
So a Bulls win, or even if they just deny the Belfast team a bonus point, will be a huge help for the Stormers.
With the Stormers already installed as local Shield champions again, they will have a lot to gain from a good Bulls performance.
What makes what happens in Belfast more critical for the Stormers is who they play this weekend.
It was not the Bulls who finished with the Stormers in the top two on last year’s log, it was in fact Leinster who finished top, the Stormers coming second, with the Bulls setting up a home final for the Stormers by shocking the perennial Pro14 champions (the URC’s previous identity) in their semifinal.
Leinster are really too far ahead now to be caught in the battle for the top position on the final log but Friday night’s game at the RDS Arena will give a good indication of what might happen should the two teams meet again in the final.
The sides have met just once before, but not too much should be read into the Stormers’ win in Cape Town last April as Leinster sent a second-string team to SA.
There is a chance Leinster might be relatively understrength again as there was talk of the Ireland international players being rested just one week after the end of their successful Six Nations campaign.
This is as the Heineken Champions Cup round of 16 comes up next and it is no secret how desperately Leinster want to be kings of Europe once more.
The Stormers will be close to full strength, at least in a manner of speaking.
The qualification is an acknowledgment that while Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Marvin Orie and the other Boks who have just completed their resting protocols are back in training and will play in Dublin, they will not have the sharpness and momentum that comes with having played recently.
For Stormers coach John Dobson the appearance of his Boks in Friday’s game is more about getting them ready for the next week’s important home round of 16 Heineken Champions Cup face-off against Harlequins.
That is not to say the Stormers will not be going to the RDS with every intention of winning, and Dobson said a few weeks back that his men would give it their best shot.
The Sharks, who are also welcoming back a phalanx of top Boks this weekend, stand to go past the Bulls on the log by beating the Scarlets in Llanelli on Saturday.