Ex-Springbok identifies Stormers’ strength as ‘exactly what they had’ when they won URC title in 2022
Stormers utility back Damian Willemse launches an attack against the Bulls and ex-Springboks centre Gcobani Bobo (inset).
Ex-Springboks centre Gcobani Bobo feels the Stormers’ “ability to grind out wins” is a similarity which they share with their title-winning side from the inaugural United Rugby Championship (URC) season in 2021/22.
The Cape Town-based outfit have made a fantastic start to the 2025/26 season, winning 10 games in a row in all competitions as well sitting top of the URC table and their Investec Champions Cup pool, where they return to action this weekend against Harlequins.
That encounter follows their recent 13-8 URC triumph over their arch-rivals, the Bulls, at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
Highlights Stormers’ grit against Bulls
As the scoreline suggests, that was a hard-fought victory, and Bobo, who represented South Africa in six Tests between 2003 and 2008, believes the grit displayed by John Dobson’s charges in that encounter will stand them in good stead during the rest of the URC campaign.
“The breakdown became a real dogfight and halted momentum for both teams. The Bulls came out with more turnovers early on, with Jacques Rudolph fronting up well,” Bobo told SportsBoom.
“The Stormers countered this when Paul de Villiers came on (off the replacements bench).
“What we’re seeing is the ‘dog’ in this Stormers side, the ability to grind out wins. That’s exactly what they had when they won it before.
“The buy-in from players is clear, and Capetonians will be talking about this win for a long time.”
By contrast, the Bulls have found the going tough, with Johan Ackermann’s troops are currently languishing in 11th position in the URC standings, and the loss to the Stormers condemned them to their sixth successive defeat in all competitions.
Bulls parted ways with assistant coaches
The men from Pretoria are going through a transitional phase as they parted ways with assistant coaches Andries Bekker and Chris Rossouw in the build-up to their clash with the Stormers.
The Bulls have been bolstered by the arrival of Springboks assistant coaches Felix Jones, Duane Vermeulen, Jerry Flannery and Andy Edwards who were given permission to aid Ackermann after he contacted Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus to request assistance.
Ackermann said it was not unusual to bring in outside coaches and believes it will be a good thing to that the Springboks assistants come in to identify some of the issues which have caused problems for the Bulls so far this season and Bobo agrees with his take on the matter.
“Johan worked with SA Rugby and the Springbok set-up before joining the Bulls,” said Bobo.
“To bring in the intellectual property of coaches coming off an 86% international win rate can only help.
“Having clarity, alignment, and a different voice can change things—we saw that impact with Tony Brown at the Springboks.”
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