Historic battle on the cards in URC final — It’s gonna be a thriller

What a final we have in store!

The Bulls will go into the match full of confidence after beating Leinster in their semifinal in Dublin last week. What a performance that was, and in my book a lot of credit must go to defence coach Joey Mongalo.

The Bulls have scored many great tries this season, but they haven’t received enough credit for their defence – and that’s what got them the win in Dublin. The pressure they put on Leinster was exceptional and the big challenge for them is to repeat that performance in the final.

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Will Jake White be able to get the same mongrel and attitude out of players who many might feel played their “final” last weekend? I think he’ll make sure they’re still very motivated. It is hard though to repeat a very good performance again the next week.

The Bulls have no choice though, because if they allow the Stormers to play a bit, they could get hammered. The Stormers have exceptional backs, men with real X-factor, and if they get into the game they could cause a lot of problems.

And, unlike the Bulls who were so good last weekend, the Stormers were horrible in their semifinal, so they have their one bad game out of the way now. They’ll be pumped after beating Ulster with such a bad performance.

Also, after the year the Stormers have had with all the off-field issues that have set them back, John Dobson and his men have the advantage of playing at home and having their fans behind them.

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I’m looking forward to a few key match-ups that will be huge over the 80 minutes. The battle of the No 8s, between Evan Roos and Elrigh Louw, will be big, especially with a Springbok spot also up for grabs. Who will grab their chance and show their mettle in the big game?

The breakdown battle will also be a biggie. The Stormers have Deon Fourie as their chief poacher, while the Bulls bank more on hooker Johan Grobbelaar, who missed out on Bok selection – Fourie no doubt being the Bok back-up thanks to his versatility.

Then we have the two No 10s, Manie Libbok and Chris Smith, neither of whom cracked the Bok squad, but both have been massive for their teams this season.

Oh, it promises to be a thriller. I just hope the weather plays along.

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On another matter, I really like the Springbok squad picked by the national management team last weekend. There’s so much depth and on back-to-back Saturdays Jacques Nienaber could pick two completely different 23-man squads and that side would possibly beat whoever opposes them.

I was pleased to see players who’ve performed well each week in the URC get a look-in – Roos, Coetzee, Fourie; they’ve all played brilliantly over the last year.

We’re now just weeks away from the first Test of the year, against Wales, and Springbok rugby is as strong as ever.