The Bulls host the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship at Loftus on Saturday, the home side start as favourites although recent history is very much with the visitors.
Bulls v Stormers, Saturday 2nd March, Pretoria, KO 17:05 (South African time)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa) and Sean Muller (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Weather Forecast – Pretoria
Bulls:
The Bulls picked a bonus point in the 25-10 derby win over the Lions in Johannesburg in Round 10 to keep the pressure on towards the top of the log.
In earlier SA derby matches they rode their luck to see off the Lions 30-28 at Loftus, scoring a late penalty before the Lions missed a golden opportunity from the kicking tee right at the death. The Bulls lost 26-20 away to the Stormers over Xmas whilst in Round 7 they put the Sharks away with a 44-10 victory. The Bulls now bid to snap a 7 match losing streak against the Stormers.
The Bulls are currently third in the current standings with 7 wins and 3 defeats for 35 log points. Coming into the this round they are 4 points shy of leaders Leinster and 1 behind Glasgow Warriors. In the outright betting the Bulls are 15/2 shots to win the tournament with BoyleSports
Stormers:
The Stormers eventually came away from Durban with a 25-21 win over the Sharks in Round 10, scoring the first 12 points in the opening quarter of the game and they kept their opponents out of reach until the closing stages of the match.
The Stormers have been foot perfect in SA derby matches although all have been pretty close. After turn of the year they reeled off wins at home to the Bulls (26-20) and the Sharks (16-15) and they started with a 35-33 victory away to the Lions in Round 1.
With 6 wins and 4 defeats the Stormers have 30 log points and can be found in sixth spot, 2 points behind the fourth placed Benetton and 5 shy of the Bulls. In the outright betting the Stormers are priced at 97/10 to win the URC title with BoyleSports
Team News
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 David Kriel, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Marcell Coetzee (co-captain), 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (co-captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements:16 Simphiwe Matanzima, 17 Akker van der Merwe, 18 Francois Kloppers, 19 JF van Heerden, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Willie Le Roux, 23 Mpilo Gumede
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Evan Roos, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
The Betting,
Bulls -6.5 points at 9/10
Stormers +6.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
I am a bit surprised that this handicap is stable at Bulls -6.5. The Stormers have won their last 7 against the Bulls and always somehow find a way to get the job done. On last nights, THE HANDICAP, Hanrick reckoned they have the wrong favourite here and I do think that the Stormers are the play at +6.5. I also like the points line of 51.5 (overs), but my main bet will be the Stormers overs although strangely I cannot find a quote at 23h45 on Friday night.
BET: 13h25 6 Units Stormers o22.5 points at 8/10 at WSB
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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