Rugby the winner at a packed Loftus Stadium

DERBIES in South African rugby are far from dead, and a packed-out Loftus Versfeld Stadium showed it at the weekend again.

For the first time in 12 years, the Bulls sold out their cathedral to rugby and rewarded their loyal supporters with a 40-22 win over their arch-rivals from the south, the Stormers.

What made this win in front of their vociferous crowd special is that the Pretoria side ended their United Rugby Championship (URC) hoodoo against the inaugural winners in fine fashion. They were seven games without a win before Saturday.

Despite rain that delayed the kick-off by an hour, supporters stuck around and found a place to hide from the downpour because they did not want to miss one minute of action.

And the 50 026 spectators received all the action from both sides as they climbed into each other from the kickoff. In the stands, they also did not fail in their support, whether it was cheers or boos that rang throughout.

Stormers flyhalf Manie Libbok, a former Bulls pivot, felt the sting of boos with his first kick that sailed way right of the right-hand upright post. The jeering was returned when the home side's flyhalf, Johan Goosen, aimed at the posts. Both sets of fans were very loud, and sometimes you could hardly tell who the home side was.

Of course, the blue and white hoops of the Stormers and Western Province in the stands made it even harder to distinguish which blue was the dominant one.

Loftus was treated to some good rugby, and the bonus-point win the Bulls scored underpinned their success on the South African scene at the moment. They dominated on the field and were full value for their money, and so were the Stormers when they fought back.

At the end of the day, the winner was rugby in Pretoria. An almost fully packed Loftus remains a sight to behold and the folks in the Jacaranda City can be proud of what was achieved.

Hopefully, Loftus Versfeld will soon see a URC final in front of a packed stadium with no rain. By the look of how the Bulls are playing under mentor Jake White, it could be on the cards sooner rather than later.