Stormers v Bulls: Five takeaways as Springboks 10s fall short of ‘standards’ in gripping derby decided by Le Roux’s ‘all-or-nothing gamble’
Stormers' fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and an inset of the Bulls' Willie Le Roux.
Following the Stormers’ 13-8 victory over the Bulls at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash.
Top line
Capetonians were treated to an enthralling URC SA derby on Saturday as the Bulls visited the Mother City despite the lack of tries, points and accuracy as the two sides went hammer and tongs at one another.
It took 30 minutes of errors, scrums, lineouts, stoppages, TMO reviews and several what-ifs to produce the first points of the match, which were finally delivered by the Bulls’ Western Cape-born superstar Handre Pollard. The Bok fly-half smartly confirmed the mark for the penalty while jogging to the spot before taking the quick tap and powering over from short range.
He failed to add the extras on his own score, but the hosts’ reply didn’t take long as Pollard’s opposite number, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, knocked over a penalty to make it a two-point game.
Willie Le Roux made matters worse for the Bulls as he was sin-binned five minutes from the break, and the Stormers again capitalised as Evan Roos broke off the back of a well-executed driving maul to put the league leaders in front as the two sides headed to the sheds.
Ill-discipline (the penalty count reading Stormers 13-16 Bulls), inaccuracy and questionable officiating calls ruled the day for both sides, with neither able to really find a point of difference or any points at all as Pollard twice missed from the tee and the Stormers repeatedly rejected shots at goal altogether.
The second-half deadlock was finally broken with just a handful of minutes left on the clock as Ntuthuko Mchunu emerged from the bodies sprawled across the deck after another successful driving maul to push the hosts into the 13-8 advantage, which they would hold onto as Le Roux overpowered his cross-kick to prompt the full-time whistle.
A proper old-school derby
The conditions in Cape Town played their part, as did the players, as we were treated to a classic North-South derby with both sides throwing everything they had at one another in the opening exchanges.
It took 30 minutes for the first points of the encounter after an intense, gripping start to proceedings in the Mother City, jampacked with brilliance, brutality, drama and inaccuracies that this rivalry has produced time and time again throughout the years.
The collisions were bone-shattering, the errors mind-numbing, with the officials adding to the chaos with delayed TMO calls. Papier came agonisingly close to opening the visitor’s account, but he was denied by inches. However, the same fate did not await Pollard despite the pleas of Salmaan Moerat as the Bok pivot bumped off the second-rower to score from a quick tap.
A reply was needed, and it came through Feinberg-Mnogomezulu, who dissected the uprights, and that was quickly followed by Roos breaking off the back of a maul to score the Stormers’ opener.
While DHL Stadium is used to seeing glorious running rugby with plenty of tries, whether that’s when the Stormers are playing or the 7s comes to town, those in attendance were not short-handed with a gripping encounter which was akin to the old Currie Cup matches before the Springbok squad announcements.
There was no love lost between Bok teammates from November who were on opposing sides of the pitch, almost as if all were livid that they didn’t get a Christmas lunch invite.
Ultimately, the difference was the driving maul and scrum – how South African – and a few baffling decisions.
Bullish Bulls
Bulls boss Johan Ackermann was irate yesterday after naming his team for the clash, hitting out at the coverage of the Springboks’ coaching set-up lending an eye and offering some advice to the struggling Pretoria-based club.
Much has been made of the side’s struggling defence this season, but there was a notable shift in attitude, accuracy and intent in Cape Town with the players seemingly releasing their coach’s frustrations on the Stormers’ ball carriers.
There was certainly more bite and emotion in the manner in which the Bulls defended, and while some will credit the Bok insight in the notable improvement, the credit must go to defence coach Jean Tiedt and his charges.
The Bulls limited the Stormers to just 224 metres throughout the game, with the Capetonians only finding a route to the try-line through their rolling maul, which delivered both scores.
Before the festive break, the Bulls also thanked lineout coach Andries Bekker for his service to the club, with Ackermann taking over the responsibility of the forward pack, and there was another notable improvement in the set-piece.
Battle of the Bok 10s
Perplexing doesn’t even begin to describe the Man of the Match nominee shortlist that home broadcasters SuperSport produced around the hour mark, with fans entrusted with picking between the two sets of starting halfbacks and Stormers tyro JD Schickerling.
Both Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Pollard will admit that their performances today were far from their usual high standards, as the duo were both error-ridden and inaccurate for the vast majority of the game.
Still, both remained on the pitch with both sides’ coaching staff well aware that they could flip the switch and produce a match-winning moment and to their credit, they each produced an opportunity to snatch the result.
After missing touch several times with his kicks out of hand, SFM10 nailed his last one and put his pack within striking distance, and they landed the killer blow. But Pollard had one more opportunity for the Hail Mary, and he executed the first part of it superbly with a wonderfully weighted short restart that the Bulls were able to get back.
He then marshalled the troops well before Willie Le Roux pulled the final trigger with an all-or-nothing gamble cross-kick that sailed over the touchline and sealed the Bulls’ fate. There is still fight left in this team.
Looking ahead
After a gritty, gripping SA derby, the Stormers will be pleased with the victory as the hosts continued their winning run in the United Rugby Championship, but John Dobson won’t be thrilled about the overall performance.
The form book was pleasing reading for the hosts but today was a perfect example that it means nothing once that first whistle goes. They lacked cohesion and discipline for much of the match, but the mark of a great team is winning when you aren’t playing well, and that’s precisely what the league leaders did.
As for the Bulls, Ackermann’s blood pressure will have surely come down as his side proved that they can still mix it with the best the URC has to offer. They weren’t disciplined, but neither were the hosts; however, there was a real heart and effort, which can be the foundation upon which their revival is built.
Having run off the Christmas deserts and shaken off the rust, the Stormers head to the UK next weekend as they take on PREM Rugby strugglers Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop. The Famous Quarters are renowned for being England’s entertainers but have been inconsistent this season. They then welcome the Leicester Tigers to Cape Town. The Stormers won’t need to win both matches to progress through to the knockout stages of the competition, but Dobson will be eager to keep the unbeaten start to the season intact.
The Bulls, on the other hand, face a dilemma of sorts. After two hefty defeats, they will need to pick up points when they host the high-flying Bristol Bears in Pretoria and perhaps even a week later in Pau. Ackermann could decide, like many other clubs have done in seasons gone by, to shift their focus to the domestic campaign and rest big names for the URC.
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However, today’s performance could be the catalyst for change and sticking with the best available side may well keep them in the running. It’s been a rollercoaster 12 months for the Bulls, who reached the URC final, bid Jake White farewell and endured a torrid end to the year, but the ride is far from over with the next loop on the horizon.