With just one point separating them in the standings both the Stormers and Ulster are bidding to strengthen their position in the United Rugby Championship play off places when they clash in Cape Town on Saturday
Stormers v Ulster, Saturday 30th March, Cape Town, KO 19:15 (South African time)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa) and Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland )
Weather Forecast – Cape Town
Stormers:
The Stormers scored 7 tries on their way to a 43-21 home win over Edinburgh in Round 12. Their opponents were not at full strength but the Stormers cashed in to move up to fifth place in the standings.
That leaves the Stormers with a record 7 wins and 5 defeats and their tally of 34 log points is 4 shy of fourth placed Munster and a whole host of other play off hopefuls are right on their heels.
The Stormers record at home now comprises of 5 wins from 5 outings and their next 3 matches are also home fixtures.
One earlier match against Irish opposition this season saw the Stormers lose 10-3 at Munster. Last season the Stormers lost 35-5 to Ulster in Belfast
In the outright betting the Stormers are priced at 96/10 to win the URC title with BoyleSports
Ulster:
Ulster went down 22-12 to the Sharks in Durban last weekend and they slipped to seventh on the log, 1 of 3 teams with 34 points and their record comprises of 7 wins and 5 defeats.
In earlier home games against South African opposition this season Ulster beat the Bulls 26-19 and the Lions 24-17.
In South Africa last season Ulster beat the Sharks 31-24 in Durban and the Lions 39-27 in Johannesburg and they fell at the first hurdle of the play offs.
In the outright betting Ulster are priced at 15/1 to win the URC title with BoyleSports
Team News
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Willie Engelbrecht, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Brok Harris.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Ben Loader
Ulster:15 Mike Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Ethan McIlroy, 10 Nathan Doak, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 David McCann, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Harry Sheridan, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring (c), 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Marcus Rea, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Stewart Moore
The Betting,
Stormers -11.5 points
Ulster +12.5 points
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
The Stormers beat a double digit handicap against Edinburg last week, but never felt to me they were firing on all cylinders. They welcome an Ulster side that appears to have off-the-field problems and I think the Stormers can take control of this match and win it comfortably. I am going to take an interest in the handicap, but my main play will probably be in the points markets and I will post it in the Goodforthegame Forum.
BET: 4 Units, Stormers -11.5 at 87/100 at Pokerbet*
*Pokerbet are generally 1st to market with rugby points lines – click here to open an account
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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