Vermeulen, Pollard spell trouble

Bulls have been best team in South Africa

BOASTING four wins from as many encounters over their South African counterparts, the Bulls can undoubtedly claim they have the upper hand in the derbies.

The Bulls have already dispatched the Sharks and the Lions on their home turf in Durban and Johannesburg respectively.

A win over the Stormers will complete their hat-trick and would serve as a lovely memento along with their postcards of Table Mountain.

The Bulls, like their South African counterparts, have been unable to string more than back-to-back victories together in this year’s competition.

Their recent history of seven losses at Newlands may serve as an ominous warning of what they will face today.

But the Bulls have been able to find that extra gear when they go up against the other South African teams in this year’s competition.

Their 40-3 dismantling of the Stormers in the first round in Pretoria may seem like ages ago but it is a good indication of the damage they can inflict when they fire at all cylinders.

The Stormers were rattled by the delay caused by an accident en route to Loftus, but a switched on Bulls team will be challenging to beat.

They are conference leaders by the narrowest of margins, and a win will put some daylight between them and the rest of the teams in the pool.

This will come in handy ahead of their tour of Australasia and as the competition nears the business end.

The Bulls will be buoyed by the return of inspirational Bok number eight Duane Vermeulen who will add some much-needed grunt up front.

They were tactically on point the last time they faced the Stormers with Bok flyhalf Handré Pollard dictating the game with aplomb.

Some good go-forward ball, and an on-song Pollard could spell another rough day for the Stormers. ALTHOUGH the Loftus debacle in round one has not entirely been put away as an aberration considering the Stormers overall performances this season, they certainly won’t be caught out again like they were on the opening weekend.

Their pre-match preparation will be better, for as much as they don’t want to make excuses, the bus accident en-route to the match certainly had an effect on the overall game. On the field, the Bulls’ line-speed on defence won’t catch them unawares again too, as they would have now prepared accordingly.

But with any South African derby, it will be all about the mindset. Who wants it more?

And this is where the Stormers’ hunger will outweigh the Bulls’ desire. Robbie Fleck’s team are acutely aware that it is fast approaching the “winor-bust” stage.

After last week’s surprise defeat to the Brumbies, there is hardly any room to manoeuvre any more. Defeat to the Bulls and their northern rivals are able to put daylight between them and the nearest challengers in the SA Conference.

However, such has been the nature of this topsy-turvy season that a Stormers victory will propel them to the top of the SA Conference.

This contest is not going to be one for the connoisseurs. It’s going to be trench-warfare stuff with set-piece domination and physicality in the collisions holding the keys to victory. And that’s why I think Eben Etzebeth playing off the bench could be a trump card for the Stormers.

The Bok enforcer will enter the fray fresh and get stuck right in. There’s no doubt he has been champing at the bit after a couple of weeks on the sidelines. He also missed the round one clash and will want to show his absence played a major role in the Stormers’ lineout woes on the day.

Newlands is also a fortress for the Stormers. They haven’t lost to the Bulls at home since 2011. “IT IS like we know that if we lose every other game but we just beat the Bulls, then it will be all okay for our supporters.”

Stormers loose-forward Pieter-Steph du Toit could not have provided a better description of what the NorthSouth derby still means in the wider spectrum of South African rugby.

Due to the Lions dominance of the SA conference over the last few years, there is the new-found belief that their contest against the Sharks has been raised to the biggest local derby, but there remains nothing like the Stormers against the Bulls.

It has legacy, going back to battles fought in the Currie Cup in times gone by. There will be an extra element today with the Marvel-inspired jerseys creating a Super Hero feel to the atmosphere, but this derby has always had its own heroes.

Joost van der Westhuizen, Corné Krige, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana ... these players did not need armour for they were proud to bleed for their teams.

Today will be no different. Siya Kolisi has Stormers blood running through his veins. Handré Pollard is the new of Loftus.

So, hopefully this afternoon’s contest will provide another chapter in the storied history of what remains the greatest rugby rivalry in the land. –

Zaahier Adams

Handré Pollard