Bulls wing Kurt-Lee Arendse in action during against the Stormers. Image: Anton Geyser/Backpagepix
Bulls vs Stormers | SA title decider — Tale of the tape
The South African Shield is up for grabs when the Bulls and the Stormers lock horns at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Who will emerge victorious in the north-south derby?
Bulls wing Kurt-Lee Arendse in action during against the Stormers. Image: Anton Geyser/Backpagepix
All four South African teams — the Bulls, Stormers, Lions and Sharks — will be feeling the pressure when they take the field on Saturday in the second URC Origin Round as the competition for places in the quarter-final heats up with eight pool rounds remaining.
SETTING THE SCENE: BULLS V STORMERS
The players will again run onto the park in their school or club socks in the second Origin Round in celebration of their rugby roots.
A packed Loftus Versfeld will await the Stormers when they take on the Bulls on Saturday in what is expected to be another thrilling round of local action.
TALE OF THE TAPE: WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
The Bulls will attempt to earn their third victory in a row and the Stormers their fifth when the teams meet at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria where neither team will give an inch.
Spicing up the clash, only five points separate the teams on the table – with the Bulls in second place and the Stormers in sixth place – meaning a victory will give the winner a handy boost.
The same applies in the SA Shield title race, where victory for the Stormers – on 17 points two ahead of the Bulls – in Pretoria will all but seal the deal as they attempt to take the silverware back to Cape Town for the third season in a row.
Apart from keeping their SA Shield hopes alive, the Bulls, who are on 35 points on the overall log, will also have their sights on possibly leaping to the top of the table if Leinster (39 pts) and the Glasgow Warriors (36 pts) slip up, which will motivate them immensely.
Adding to this, they will want to keep their perfect home record at Fortress Loftus this season intact. They will also be hellbent on changing their fortunes against the Capetonians, who have won the last seven encounters between the sides.
The Bulls will enter the match with the bragging rights as being the best attacking team in the competition so far this season with an impressive 349 points in 10 matches, but the Stormers will take pride from the fact that they have been one of the best defensive outfits, meaning it could prove to be a tight encounter.
