‘We are prepared’: Stormers ready for massive Bulls challenge in URC

The Stormers are gearing up for a massive challenge against their fierce rivals the Bulls in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match at Cape Town Stadium on Friday night.

The Stormers against the Bulls is fast becoming a legendary URC derby clash after they battled out three thrilling games in last season’s edition.

ALSO READ: Champions Cup wrap – Sharks march on, Stormers bounce back and Bulls falter

It is the team from Cape Town that holds the bragging rights after they won all three matches, one in Pretoria and two in the Mother City, including the final, which the Stormers just edged to lift the inaugural URC trophy.

Their rivalry is now set to be renewed as they take on each other for the first time this season, with both coming into the URC match off a mixed two-game run in the Champions Cup.

The Bulls picked up a bonus-point win at home against Lyon, but lost away against Exeter Chiefs, while the Stormers lost away against Clermont and claimed a bonus-point win against London Irish last week.

“Training has gone well and we are looking forward to playing on Friday night. We have come off a good win, so we are quite happy with where we are and looking forward to the game,” said Stormers assistant coach Rito Hlungwani.

Differing approaches

It is going to be a very interesting matchup as both sides have chosen differing approaches to the game.

The Bulls have rested their strongest squad, choosing to play their second stringers in the Champions Cup, while the Stormers have gone with rotation and played most of their best players over the past two weekends. So it will be interesting to see which approach proves to be the best.

“I think we will have to wait and see on Friday night. Different teams have their own plans, and we back ours and they obviously back theirs. So we will have to wait and see which approach works,” said Hlungwani.

“But we are quite confident and happy with how we have prepared and planned over the past couple of weeks. It wasn’t just about this game that’s coming this weekend. It’s been a long-term plan and we have stuck by it and we are happy with where we are.”

ALSO READ: Challenge Cup wrap: Mixed weekend for Lions and Cheetahs

The Stormers will, however, be without lock Salmaan Moerat for the game after he picked up an injury against London Irish, while wing Leolin Zas and centre Ruhan Nel, who also went off in the match, look as if they will be fit to play come Friday.

“Salmaan sustained a knee injury and he hasn’t trained, so it’s not looking too good there. The doctor still has to give us a final diagnosis, but we think he will be out for a bit,” said Hlungwani.

“Zas and Ruhan have been running around at training. We still have to assess and see if they will be fully fit (for the game). But I don’t think it was a knock worth them missing a game over so we will have to see.”