There has been no salvo fired by either the Bulls or the Stormers ahead of one of Super Rugby’s most anticipated matches, but that will take nothing away from the magnitude of today’s game between two of South Africa’s fiercest rivals at Loftus Versfeld.
The intrigue that has been the north versus south derby will take on a different form as both teams begin their Super Rugby campaigns in the firm belief that this is their year.
The hosts have tasted glory in the southern hemisphere’s most contested franchise competition and will be eager to add a fourth title to their already impressive trophy cabinet.
They are the only South African side to have won the Super Rugby title in the professional era. Today they take their first steps in gaining a fourth title.
But the Bulls’ focus won’t be on history or what they have done at Loftus. Instead it will be on their performance, which will be fuelled by the emotion of playing against a side who often bring out the best in them.
Key to the Bulls’ performance will be the leadership of stand-in captain Victor Matfield, who was at the helm of the Bulls for all three of their Super Rugby titles, and the decisions he makes to ensure the Bulls gain a physical and psychological edge over the Stormers.
The Bulls are laden with Springboks, with none more impressive than hooker Adriaan Strauss, whose return to Pretoria has brought with it real belief that the Bulls will be a formidable force this year.
Strauss will be playing alongside another Bok in Trevor Nyakane, who also joins the side from the Free State Cheetahs. He will be making his debut for the Loftus outfit along with loose forward Lappies Labuschagne, who will aid Deon Stegmann in the intense battle to gain possession at the breakdown.
The Bulls will feel they have all areas covered with the wealth of experience they can call on, but there will be much focus on the young shoulders of Bok flyhalf Handré Pollard.
In the years the Bulls won the competition, much of their psychological edge emanated from the ability of their flyhalf. In 2007, it was Derick Hougaard, with Morné Steyn being the man at pivot for the 2009 and 2010 campaigns.
Pollard will need to follow in their footsteps if the Bulls are to become a threat to the Wara-tahs’ title.
If Pollard can continue in the rich vein of form he showed as captain of the Junior Springboks and in the home leg of last year’s Rugby Championship, especially against the All Blacks, then the Bulls can rest assured they will be well on their way to competing with the best the competition has to throw at them.
Even if Pollard gathers plenty of points with his boot, Matfield was honest in his assessment this week that the team that scores the most tries should win the competition. So the pressure will be on the Bulls backs to make the most of the dominance their forwards are likely to achieve in the set piece.
With plenty of Boks in their backline, namely Jan Serfontein and JJ Engelbrecht at centre and Bjorn Basson and Francois Hougaard on the wings, the Bulls have individuals with a track record of being game breakers and try scorers.
However, in the Stormers, the Bulls will be facing some of their toughest opponents, and the match will set the stage for South Africa’s charge to the play-offs this year.
The Stormers have often had to play second fiddle among the South African teams in Super Rugby, so there will be much motivation for them to go all the way this year, starting with today’s match.
This is the final season for their departing coach, Allister Coetzee, who has delivered two Currie Cup titles but is yet to lay his hands on Super Rugby’s most coveted title.
Coetzee will be leaving Cape Town for Japan at the end of the year, and there would be no better parting shot than a Super Rugby crown.
He will be missing his most trusted general in Bok captain Jean de Villiers, who is out injured for the whole competition, but in Springbok No8Duane Vermeulen he has a warrior and a worthy leader.
As much as talk this week has revolved around Vermeulen and the impact he will have on the game, the Bulls need to remember that most of the Stormers players will be coming to Loftus with confidence as winners of the Currie Cup, and as a team who won at Loftus last year during that competition. - Saturday Star