Cape Town - Fifty minutes had passed by without the Bulls firing a shot at the Stormers, and suddenly out of nowhere, Zak Burger burst the game open with a thrilling break from inside his own half.
Up to that point at the Cape Town Stadium on April 9, the Bulls had battled to find their rhythm on attack as they retreated into a somewhat conservative approach.
It was a high-stakes game, with the Stormers leading the SA Shield in the United Rugby Championship, and it almost resembled a Test match as both teams got stuck in on defence and tried to minimise risk, while the Bulls kicked far too much ball away as well.
But Burger’s dart set up Canan Moodie’s try, and it was 10-10 with half-an-hour to go.
ALSO READ: Toulon suffer blow as Cheslin Kolbe sidelined with broken thumb
Unfortunately for Jake White’s team, they were unable to take inspiration from their scrumhalf’s brilliance until it was too late, with Elrigh Louw’s touchdown not enough in a 19-17 defeat.
White will hope his players heed the lessons from that encounter in Saturday’s rematch with Benetton, their Rainbow Cup final conquerors, at Loftus Versfeld (2pm kickoff).
“Especially the way in which the Stormers defend, they have a very hard defensive line that comes very hard off the line – almost like the Springboks. In previous games of the Stormers, they conceded very few tries, and that is what makes them an outstanding team: their defence is unbelievable,” Burger said from Pretoria this week.
“They disrupted our breakdowns a lot. We weren’t clinical enough and lost a lot of ball in contact, which makes it very difficult to score points when you don’t have the ball, and they play from turnovers.
“What we took out of that game is that we weren’t clinical enough. In games like that, it’s like a Test-match atmosphere and you have to take your chances whenever it’s being given to you.
“Unfortunately on the day, we didn’t take enough of our chances, and the Stormers did that pretty well. Going up against Benetton, we knew that they are a very good team. They won the Rainbow Cup last year and got all their internationals back from the Six Nations.
“We know it’s going to be a very hard match, and we know we will have to be very clinical and take our chances whenever they present it to us.”
It will be an extra special day for Burger if he features against Benetton, as the 23-year-old will come up against his old school hero, former Stormers No 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, who has been a stalwart for the Treviso outfit for a number of years now.
“Funnily enough, Dewaldt Duvenage also comes from Paarl Gim, where I went to school. So, it’s always a real privilege to play against someone like that. He has so much experience, and I grew up in the Cape and always went to watch him on most Saturdays when the Stormers played Super Rugby,” Burger said.
“So, I’m watching him since I was small, and he is a world-class scrumhalf for me. He controls the game very well. He knows when to make it quick. He has a good left foot, and it’s a big privilege for me to play against someone like him. And I think the cherry on the cake is that he comes from Paarl Gim as well!
“They come from Italy now, and it’s going to be two ’o clock in the afternoon at altitude. So, we want to speed the game up. But on the same note, when the ball is slow, you don’t want to speed it up too quickly. You’ve got to be patient and work through your phases, and whenever the opportunities are given, you have to take your opportunity.
“From that Italy team that beat Wales in Cardiff, 12 of the players that played that day play for Benetton. So, they are obviously full of confidence now after winning that game, and I really think it’s going to be a very hard battle for us this coming Saturday.”