jake white. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
- Bulls coach Jake White says the Stormers’ selection for Friday’s clash at Cape Town Stadium is a “compliment” to his charges.
- The Stormers have opted for six strikers on the bench.
- This is the first time the teams have met since the 2021/22 URC final.
Bulls boss Jake White says Friday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against the Stormers is not about revenge.
The teams meet at DHL Stadium for the first time since June 18, 2022, the 2021/22 URC final, when the Stormers fired up in the second half to emerge as 18-13 winners and inaugural champions.
That was the Stormers’ third win in a row against their neighbors to the north, a fact White was quick to point out in his pre-game press conference on Thursday, but he insists Friday’s outing is “another opportunity” for his charges.
White says that the final, in isolation, was not analyzed for this match.
In fact, over the past three years, White has faced John Dobson’s Stormers numerous times and in various contests, with White actually on the right side of that one-on-one rivalry.
“We’ve lost the last three times we’ve played the Stormers, but since I’ve been with the Bulls we’ve probably faced them 12 times and won about eight of them. It depends which side of the fence you want.” to watch,” he said.
“We didn’t watch the final in isolation. We know what the Stormers do. They have World Cup winners in their group and nine or 10 Springboks. They have a style that suits them with a strong pack of forwards who scrum for penalties. and then corner kicks and mauls for tries. That hasn’t changed in a long time, so it’s not just the final.
“For the last two or three years, we’ve known what they have, so it’s not just about the final. We know what we need to do and we know what we’ve done to be successful against them.”
“When you’ve been training for 40 years, you don’t get up in the morning and think about the results of revenge.”
White also pointed to the Stormers’ team selection: Dobson had opted for six forwards on his bench instead of the more traditional five, which he said was a compliment to his young pack of Bulls.
“They have six forwards on the bench, which I think is a great announcement for Bulls rugby,” he said.
“It reminds me of the old powerhouse WP v Northern Transvaal games when they saw the Northern Transvaal forward pack as a strength, and it’s a huge compliment to us as a group that those kinds of images and fears are reconsidered. It’s something we pride ourselves on.” and it is part of our DNA.
“The Stormers’ tight five are, man for man, about two years older than all the guys on our team.
“We’re still where we are. We’re still developing and evolving as a team. I’d like to believe we’ve gotten better and will perform better because of the experiences we’ve had in the last couple of years, but Dobson has been with them for a long, long time and he has built a group of players that he has trained almost since the days of UCT.
“They are the most experienced South African coaching staff in this competition, and we are still relatively young.
“I think they are still favourites.”
The start is at 19:15.
Teams:
storms
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Substitutes: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Clayton Blommetjies.
Bulls
15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Substitutes: 16 Bismarck Du Plessis, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Stravino Jacobs
