The rivalry between the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls resumes when the local giants do battle in round 8 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in Cape Town.
Overall Vodacom URC record: Played 6, Stormers won 6.
Vodacom URC results:
6 May, 2023: Stormers 33-21 Bulls (quarter-final)
18 February, 2023: Bulls 19-23 Stormers
23 December, 2022: Stormers 37-27 Bulls
18 June, 2022: Stormers 18-13 Bulls (Grand Final)
9 April, 2022: Stormers 19-17 Bulls
22 January, 2022: Bulls 26-30 Stormers
When they last met:
Saturday’s match at DHL Stadium will be the seventh clash between the Stormers and Vodacom Bulls in the Vodacom URC, with the home side currently on a six-game winning streak over their rivals.
It will be the first north-south clash between the two teams since last season’s quarter-finals, which the Stormers won 33-21 in Cape Town, with Manie Libbok scoring 18 points against his former side.
The first Vodacom URC meeting in January 2022 of the inaugural season, saw the Stormers snatch a 30-26 victory at Loftus Versfeld, where another former Bull, Warrick Gelant, came off the bench to set up the winning try, scored by Paul de Wet.
The climax of the 2021-22 season saw the Stormers host the Vodacom Bulls in the Grand Final. Once again, the home side came out on top, with Libbok scoring eight points, including a late drop goal, to steer them to an 18-13 victory for their first major title.
Coaches
John Dobson wrote his name into Stormers folklore by guiding the Western Cape team to their first piece of major silverware, in the 2021-22 Vodacom URC.
A born-and-raised Capetonian, Dobson has Western Province rugby running through his veins, having coached at just about every level of rugby in the Western Cape.
Now into his third Vodacom URC season with the Stormers, Dobson has enjoyed the Bulls rivalry that has developed through the tournament.
“It’s brilliant for South African rugby,” Dobson said last season. “I do also feel it, we all do. This feels like proper stuff. It came up when Jake came in and did such a great job of rebuilding the Bulls and they won two Currie Cups in one year.
“The rivalry has been developing over social media stuff, us getting a couple of narrow wins and in the final.”
Jake White has led a revolution at the Vodacom Bulls, since taking over as director of rugby and head coach in 2020.
Having coached the team to back-to-back Currie Cup titles in his first two seasons, White is still looking to guide the Bulls to a cross-hemisphere tournament victory.
“The Stormers are the benchmark,” White admitted, after last season’s quarter-final loss. “The model is simple, I’m not saying that it’s easy to get, but they have a good scrum, efficient lineout, strong defence and, when Manie’s kicking well at goal, it becomes so difficult to catch up once they get scoreboard pressure.
“I need to find who we need to have that x-factor, good set-piece and have that style. It’s obviously something that works in this competition.”
Key players
White, as director of rugby, bore the brunt of the criticism for the Bulls’ performances last season, which included a run of 10 consecutive losses in all competitions, and the former Springbok boss left no stone unturned in the off-season, recruiting seasoned veterans like 2019 World Cup winner Willie le Roux, who has hit the ground running in his combination with World Cup winners Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie.
Boks Akker van der Merwe (Sale) and Wilco Louw (Harlequins) are two imports who add significant grunt to the Bulls’ front row, which to this point this season has demolished all comers.
Other than outgoing captain Steven Kitshoff and lock Marvin Orie, the Stormers have retained the majority of their stars, and have fortified the squad with the return of fullback Warrick Gelant, and the signing of speedsters Ben Loader (London Irish) and Courtnall Skosan (Northampton) who add plenty of depth and experience in the outside backs.
Sti Sithole and Lizo Gqoboka have been recruited from the Lions and Bulls, respectively, to battle for the vacant No 1 jersey.
One of the key head-to-heads will be between the Bulls’ Cameron Hanekom and the Stormers’ Evan Roos, two eighthmen vying to succeed Duane Vermeulen as the Springbok No 8 in 2024.
The battle between the playmakers will also be key. Manie Libbok has haunted his former side since making the move to Cape Town, but White has got Johan Goosen back to his most imperious form which infuses a star-studded backline with unpredictability.
Photo: Carl Fourie/Gallo Images