At the DHL Stadium
The circumstances were unique as rugby rocked Cape Town just two days before Christmas, but the brutal battle between the Stormers and Bulls on Friday night was all too familiar.
This was an epic, he finally won 37-27 by the Stormers, but it all went ding-dong as both sides threw absolutely everything at each other.
The crowd of 30,000 was excellent, roaring from start to finish, and the Bulls did excellently to come back from 13-13 at halftime despite playing 20 of those 40 minutes with 14 men after the scorecards. Yellows to Marco van Staden and then to Elrigh. low
HOW IT HAPPENED | Stormers vs Bulls
At the time, it was anyone’s game, and it would have taken a brave punter to make a call either way.
In the end, a second half barrage from the Stormers saw them score an impressive three tries in five minutes that carried them comfortably over the line and provided a deafening reminder of why they are champions of the United Rugby Championship.
That crazy period -between minutes 49 and 53- was a treat for the Capetonians who had come loudly to this warm and colorful evening that will be fondly remembered for a long time in these parts.
Manie Libbok dazzled, Suleiman Hartzenberg arrived, Leolin Zas danced and leapt up a brilliant individual try, and through it all, the Bulls had no answer.
The result leaves the Stormers second on the URC record and they have now beaten the Bulls four times in a row in this competition.
Almost from the first whistle the spice that makes this one of the fiercest rivalries in world rugby became evident.
“I’m glad that’s out of the system,” referee AJ Jacobs said, just 80 seconds after the clash, after some good old-fashioned ‘bargy argy’ saw both groups of forwards go toe-to-toe outside the box. ball.
Van Staden was lucky to escape a red card for a head clash with Dan du Plessis in the 13th minute, but for the match as a whole, it was a positive decision by the referee.
The Stormers had built an early 6-0 lead thanks to two Libbok penalties, and that early dominance should have translated into even more points when Hacjivah Dayimani ignored a pass to his outside, opting instead to cross the line only to be stopped. brilliantly by a Kurt-Lee Arendse tackle that regained possession.
The Bulls, with Van Staden still out of the field, scored three valuable points through Johan Goosen to make it 6-3, but just as Van Staden returned, the hosts crushed the Bulls with a rolling maul that resulted in a try from penalty. and saw No 8 Elrigh Louw also in the bin.
The Stormers were up 13-3 at the time and it seemed a long way back for the Bulls given that they were down to 14 men again.
They responded perfectly, holding the ball during various phases of attack. The Stormers gave away a penalty and with the overlap down the left and the lead in the pocket, Goosen kicked into space where Nizaam Carr met and crashed.
Goosen knocked down a quality conversion when Damian Willemse was momentarily missed by a blow to the head, and by the 38th minute the Bulls were hitting the line again after a pair of Stormers penalties.
The Bulls came close, but were held on the line, and they didn’t hesitate to take the three from point blank to leave the score tied at 13-13.
It was a nervous start by both sides after the break, but then, in the span of two minutes, the Stormers ‘bang bang’ in spectacular fashion to score two tries that bowled the visitors down.
They also showed the best of both facets of their attack.
The first try came after holding it close, hitting far, before Joseph Dweba displayed massive strength to dominate from 5m.
Then, at the restart, the Stormers launched a riveting fast break, a hallmark of their game under coach John Dobson, which saw Libbok open up a gap and display incredible awareness and ability to unleash those outside to his right. . It ended with Hartzenberg’s highly rated score, but this was a team attempt of the highest order.
Suddenly the score read 27-13 for the Stormers and the Bulls were stunned. It was about to get worse for them, too.
The fourth attempt was just as impressive. Libbok found Zas in acres of space down the left flank, and the leading try-scorer in last season’s competition had plenty to do as he danced past several tackles and scored in a wonderful individual effort.
Libbok again added the extras, and at 34-13, this seemed to have ended as a contest.
The Bulls hit back as Van Staden went close behind, cutting it to 34-20, and with 15 minutes to go they still had a chance.
That optimism was effectively dashed when Libbok kicked a 40-meter penalty, bringing it to 37-20. There was one last try from Bismarck du Plessis, but it was no more than consolation.
Results aside, South Africa’s first festive season rugby test must be considered a great success. There were almost 25,000 people in Durban early Friday watching the Sharks beat the Lions.
Those numbers, more than anything, will be the bells that ring in the ears of SA Rugby as they have taken another important step towards fully aligning with the Northern Hemisphere calendar.
Goalscorers:
Storms 37 (13)
Tries: Penalty try, Joseph Dweba, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Leolin Zas
Conversion: Manie Libbock (4)
Penalties: Manie Libbok (3)
Bulls 27 (13)
Trys: Nizaam Carr, Marco van Staden, Bismarck du Plessis
Conversion: Johan Goosen (2), Chris Smith
Penalties: Goosen (2)
