Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Stormers, the United Rugby Championship (URC) title holders, march on. It has been over a year since coach John Dobson’s charges lost a home match in the competition, and Friday’s exhilarating 37-27 win over
the Bulls at DHL Stadium was another deafening reminder of their title credentials in 2022/23. There is still a long way to go, but at Christmas, the Capetonians will occupy second place on the overall log and top spot in the
South African conference. This was also the fourth consecutive time the Stormers have knocked over the Bulls in URC action, and with the rivalry between the two
unions having reached familiar highs in recent times, this one meant a lot to Dobson, skipper Steven Kitshoff and the rest of the men in blue. So much had been said about the North v South derby being
back to its brutal best in the build-up to the match, but there was also significant attention on Bull boss Jake White’s team selection strategies. With the arrival of the European Champions Cup, the travel
demands on the South African sides have been immense in recent weeks. White’s answer was to field largely watered-down sides for a home clash against Lyon on 10 December (42-36 win) and a trip to Exeter on 17
December (44-14 loss), returning to full strength for Friday’s clash against the Stormers. That, Dobson says, made the win even more special. “I think it’s a really big honour for us that they
clearly invested so much into this game by resting those guys and putting their eggs in this basket,” said Dobson. “We knew they were really coming for us after choosing
their European Cup team differently with this game in mind, which is a massive compliment to us. “I presume that was to try and put the final to bed, so
for us to win even more convincingly is fantastic for us. That they showed us so much respect is great for Stormers rugby and a sign that we’re back on the
top table. “To get the win like we did, it’s a good feeling. It was a really good performance.” Dobson also spoke to the crazy period of five minutes in the
second half that saw the Stormers score three superb tries in five minutes, with the scores locked at 13-13, to ultimately deliver the knockout blow. The scores from Suleiman Hartzenberg and Leolin Zas, in
particular, were incredible efforts of running rugby that had the Cape Town crowd delirious. “I read this week that we like to kick to the corners and maul, and that’s how we got our first try, but the real DNA of the Stormers
was those three tries,” said Dobson. “I was very proud and pleased. To get 30 000 people here to see those tries makes us extremely happy.” Dobson also disagreed with White’s post-match assessment
that the Bulls had lost the game due to being a more inexperienced group. “There is often a battle with who has the youngest team or coaching team, and that seems to be a competition sometimes,” said
Dobson. “I don’t know if the Bulls showed inexperience. I thought Johan Goosen drove that came pretty well for them. They have Cornal Hendricks, Lionel Mapoe, Nizaam Carr, Kurt-Lee Arendse … these are Test match
players. “If that’s how he [White] saw that’s how they lost the game then it’s different to how I saw it, but so be it.” Skipper Steven Kitshoff, meanwhile, said the win was
“up there” with one of the more special nights of his career.
“It was crazy. I didn’t expect to have 30 000 people two days before Christmas and you could hear how loud it was,” said Kitshoff. “That atmosphere was absolutely electrifying.” The Stormers are next in action on 31 December when they host the Lions, the last side to have beaten them at home. Kick-off is at 19:00.
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