Stormers v Bulls: it’s a prizefight
The Stormers
The Stormers have been taking steps, albeit small ones, in the right direction since Rassie Erasmus arrived in Cape Town at the end of 2007.
The former Cheetahs Currie Cup-winning coach installed effective structures in the junior ranks and guided the Stormers to within one point of reaching the Super 14 semi-finals in his first season.
The team learnt some tough lessons in 2009 when injuries and tactical blunders colluded to see the Stormers slump to just five wins from 13 matches.
But the ship was righted last year when Erasmus narrowed his portfolio to all things technical, handing the reins of the team to former Springbok assistant coach Allister Coetzee.
On the back of the momentum generated by Western Province’s success in the 2009 Currie Cup, the Stormers entrenched themselves behind an impenetrable defensive wall to venture all the way to the 2010 Super 14 final.
A last-minute penalty lifted the Blue Bulls to victory against Province in that 2009 Currie Cup semi-final, and the Pretorians were the cause of similar despair last year when the Bulls manhandled the Stormers at Orlando Stadium en route to clinching the Super 14 title.
Erasmus’s junior teams won their respective domestic trophies at the end of the season, but a lack of physicality was again at the heart of an emphatic loss for Coetzee’s charges against the Sharks in the Currie Cup final.
The Stormers will be determined to dismiss the long-held view that they’re just not tough enough up front to compete with their abrasive domestic nemesis when they jog out at Loftus tomorrow night.
Given the presence of 12 current Boks in the Bulls’ lineup, and the proximity of the World Cup, a strong showing in Pretoria will be a top priority for several Stormers who have been overlooked for national honours in recent years.
Brok Harris, Francois Louw, Duane Vermeulen and Peter Grant will be determined to prove that they can add value to South Africa’s title defence, while Andries Bekker and Gio Aplon will have an opportunity to narrow the gap separating them from a place in the world champions’ starting line-up.
The bulls
Winners of three of the past four Super 14 titles, the Bulls have progressed from dominating the domestic scene in the mid-noughties to establishing themselves as arguably the best club side in the world.
Fourie du Preez and Victor Matfield spearhead a group of senior players whose careers were built on the blueprint mapped out by former Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer, and they have kept their hand at the tiller in guiding the northern juggernauts to success in the Super 14.
The Bulls harnessed the tenets of percentage rugby to overcome the IRB’s annual law-tinkering and beat three different opponents – Sharks, Chiefs, Stormers – in each Super 14 final.
But an unconvincing start to this season – which saw the Bulls surrender an 18-game winning streak at Loftus Versfeld against the Highlanders two weeks ago – has given birth to doubts about the virility of an ageing team that may have one eye on the World Cup and the other on lucrative offers to move abroad thereafter.
Du Preez and Danie Rossouw have penned deals to join Japanese club Suntory; Bakkies Botha will join French club Toulon; Wynand Olivier, Gurthro Steenkamp and Gary Botha have been linked with moves to Europe, and Victor Matfield is expected to retire at season’s end.
Has the impending end of a golden era for these players diminished their hunger for success outside of the World Cup, or will it galvanise them behind the banner of rallying for one last hurrah?
Du Preez and Matfield have won the World Cup, two Tri-Nations titles, a series against the British & Irish Lions, three Super 14 trophies and several Currie Cups – can they possibly want to win a Super 15 title more than their less illustrious Stormers counterparts?
Does Deon Stegmann really warrant his place in the Bok team ahead of Francois Louw, will Pierre Spies be able to contend with the physicality of Duane Vermeulen, and isn’t Gio Aplon a better fullback prospect than Zane Kirchner?
The clash with last year’s losing finalists in front of a packed Loftus Versfeld will inevitably answer many of these questions tomorrow.