The Vodacom Bulls will look to continue a home winning run of 12 matches when they welcome defending champions the DHL Stormers to Loftus Versfeld in a Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby on Saturday.
Overall URC head-to-head record: Played four, Stormers won four
When they last met:
Vodacom Bulls
– Elrigh Louw crossed the gainline 11 times in Round 13 – as many times as any other player (= Ignacio Mendy and Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler) – for a gainline success rate of 68.75%. He has now made more metres in contact than any other player this season (150).
– Ruan Nortje has played more minutes than any other player in the URC (1,030), missing just 10 minutes of rugby so far this season. He has also made more clearouts than any other player (67).
– Johan Goosen and Chris Smith have the highest goalkicking success rates of any players who have made more than seven attempts (94% and 89%). Goosen also produced a try assist with a kick in Round 13.
#URC – @mark_keohane is backing the Stormers to make it five from five against @BlueBullsRugby, while Zels believes the side from Pretoria will extend their 12-game unbeaten run at home in the @Vodacom United Rugby Championship. pic.twitter.com/9slmjQdi3Z
— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) February 16, 2023
Stormers
– A round-high two of Kade Wolhuter’s three restarts were retained in Round 13. He has gone long with 72.3% of his restarts so far this season.
– Manie Libbok is the league’s top point-scorer having scored 26 more than any other player (121); his goal kicking success rate has been 81% thus far. He has also made the most metres from penalty kicks in the league (2,301) – making an average of 28 metres with each kick.
– The DHL Stormers have the premier try scoring rate in the URC when they enter the opposition 22: they have crossed the whitewash during 41% of their visits to the red zone.
Did you know?
– The Vodacom Bulls have lost their last four league matches against the Stormers, three of which have been in Cape Town.
– The Vodacom Bulls have lost three of their last four matches but haven’t lost at home since February 2022 (12 matches).
– The Stormers have played their three most recent matches away from home, losing two of them.
Photo: Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix