These are the historic two teams who will contest the battle royal, for the last crown of the Super 14, as we know it.
Vodacom Bulls |
Vodacom Stormers |
| 29 May at 17:00 | Orlando Stadium, Soweto |
|---|---|
| Team: 15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Jaco Pretorius, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Francois Hougaard, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Fourie du Preez, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Dewald Potgieter, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Victor Matfield (c), 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Gary Botha, 1. Gurthrö Steenkamp
Replacements: 16. Bandise Maku, 17. Bees Roux, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Derick Kuün, 20. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 21. Jaco van der Westhuizen, 22. Pedrie Wannenburg. |
Team: 15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Juan De Jongh, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Francois Louw, 6. Schalk Burger (C), 5. Andries Bekker, 4. Adriaan Fondse, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. Wicus Blaauw
Replacements: 16. Deon Fourie, 17. J C Kritzinger, 18. Anton Van Zyl, 19. Pieter Louw, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Willem De Waal, 22. Tim Whitehead |
Our sister web site, rugbyweek, sees the build-up to the match as follows:
History and stats make the Bulls favourites to win their third Super Rugby title in four years when they host the Stormers in the final of the 2010 tournament at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday.
The Bulls will be aiming to become the third Super Rugby franchise to win back-to-back titles after lifting their second trophy last season following their 61-17 victory over the Chiefs in the final in Pretoria.
Only the Crusaders (2005, 2006 and 1998, 1999 and 2000) and Blues (1996, 1997) have ever won consecutive competitions.
Nine Bulls players – Wynand Olivier, Morne Steyn, Fourie du Preez, Pedrie Wannenburg, Victor Matfield, Danie Rossouw, Derick Kuun, Gurthro Steenkamp and Pierre Spies – will be playing in their third Super 14 finals, while Francois Hougaard and Gerhard van den Heever are the only Bulls players in the starting-line up who have not played in a Super 14 final.
The Stormers, in contrast, are appearing in their first Super Rugby final. The only Stormers to have appeared in a major final are Bryan Habana -who played two Super Rugby finals for the Bulls – along with Schalk Burger and Jaque Fourie who have all played in a Rugby World Cup final.
The Bulls have won five of the last six meetings between the two teams -the exception being the final round match two weeks ago when the Bulls fielded a side showing 14 changes from the previous week.
Matfield will lead the Bulls for a record 60th time and could join Todd Blackadder and Richie McCaw as the most successful Super Rugby captains of all time in leading a team to the title on three occasions.
The Stormers have the best defensive record in the competition, conceding only 17 tries, while the Bulls have the best attacking record in the competition, having scored 50 tries and setting an SA record for the most points in a Super Rugby season.
The Stormers have the best disciplinary record in the competition, having received only one yellow card.
Former Lions coach and now Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has been in charge of the Pretoria franchise for the last three seasons and has a winning record of 69 percent.
Former Springbok assistant coach Allister Coetzee has a 71 percent winning record in his first year in charge of the Stormers.
South African Rugby Union (Saru) referee Craig Joubert will handle his 50th Super Rugby game and his first final.
The match starts at 5pm on Saturday.
The quality of the bench gives the Bulls a massive edge.
Damn, a man for man comparison does not give you much difference between the teams… maybe the only glaring missmatch in the comparisons can be found at No 13… no contest Jaque Fourie is much better than Jaco Pretorius.
Back 3… about evens stevens, considering that Bryan Habana has’nt been in the hottest form, whereas Francois Hougaard has been on form…
Halfback pairings I would have to choose the Bulls as superior…. specially Fourie du Preez’ special ability to control matters tactically and break games apart.
Loosies… the Stormers sneak it… or do they?
Locks…. even
Front row…. Bulls should be better with Gurthro being the form Super 14 Loosehead… hookers about even and Werner maybe a bit better than Brock.
The main difference lies in the players on the bench…. where the Bulls are better off.
However, a man for man comparison is simply not good enough as a measure…. the best TEAM will win on Saturday.
SA Rugby is healthy, that’s for sure.
Aaag come on guys…
Bulls by 12 !!!!!
Possession of the ball will be key…
I don’t think the Stormers are as vulnerable under the high ball as what the Crusaders proved to be.
Bulls must play with possession and aim for territorial dominance… the penalties will be milked easily enough when that happens.
If you kick for touch, kick it well out, preventing quick throw-in’s.
If you kick on the back 3 they must be shut down with excellent following up, before they can mount counter-attacks…
Bulls must use driving mauls from their own line-outs anywhere from the 10m line of opposition territory…. lots of metres can be gained this way and a lot of penalties milked from illegal attempts to stop the maul.
Bulls must get early scrum dominance and keep the scrum pressure on, giving bad ball to Stormers on their possession and excellent ball on their own scrums.
I perceive a weakness between Juan de Jongh and Peter Grant’s channel on defense…. Wynand is the right one to exploit that, so too the Bulls pod-runners from ground-ball phases… and of course that man Spiesssss!
Bulls must shift well on defence out wide, just like they did this past weekend against the Saders, that’s where the Stormers are at their most potent…. No 13 center channel and on both wings… Luckily Kirchner is bloody solid on defence at the back, on the high ball and can counterpunch hard… as we saw this year and this past weekend.
Werner and Gurthro must keep dicipline at scrum time and not give away a single penalty…
Bulls must do the basics perfectly, the rest will take care of itself… and the experience and BMT will carry them through….
BNT gaan bepaal wie gaan wen, en ongelukkig het die Bulls in baie meer finals gespeel die laaste 10jaar as die Stormers.
MAAR, ek dink die Stormers glo die eerste keer in jare hulle kan die Bulls wen, en veral die feit dat dit nie op Loftus is nie…
5@ KingPaul:
Bulls IS op “Loftus”…. hy lyk net bietjie anders… glo my….
@ KingPaul:
Sterkte met jou span !!!
@ KingPaul:
Wat is jou prediction ?
hehehe, BMT, sorry…..
good day people
well stormer supporters please dont hate me for saying this , and i mean i am a sharky and hold no malice towards the stormers 😆 but i feel the bulls will take it without to much of a hiccup
@ sharky_forever:
We must have had the same meds this morning because I feel exactly the same !!! 😆
And Hallo … he he he
Nee wat, ref gaan weereens vir Stegmann uit die game blaas, Danie sal sy gebruiklike geelkaart kry vir vuilspel en Shadow gaan of iemand in die lug tackle of weer ‘n spertackle uitvoer.
Alles hang af van of Morne soveel punte met die skoen kan aanteken soos wat ons driee gaan druk.
Stormers met 5!!
So jy se die Stormers kan slegs wen as die Bulle opf#k ? 😀
Toemaar, ek voel ook so 😉
I say this for the reason , not only do i think the bulls forwards will gradually get the upper hand , but the match control by FDUP and Steyn will play a big role
Also on has a team that has played in many finals and knows how to win the big matches
as good as the stormers are i feel this could be their downfall
lol Blouste en dag ou grote
dag oom paul 😆
It wasn’t difficult to see the smile on Bulls captain Victor Matfield’s face when asked about the confidence coming out of the Stormers camp this week.
After finishing second in the Super 14, the Cape side are naturally confident of their chances in Saturday’s winner-takes-all final at Orlando Stadium in Soweto and have matched their bravado with some big words in the media.
The Bulls, who have been quietly preparing for the match, have in contrast been keeping a low-profile, focusing on the match and not saying much in the press.
Some say it may be for fear of motivating the opposition, but the renewed focus is not something new for a side looking for their third title in four years. To be honest, the Bulls have never been a big-talking team that predicts massive things; they have simply done their talking on the field.
That is why, when the Stormers have told all and sundry that they are marching to Soweto to win, it must have brought the faintest of smiles to the Bulls faces.
Saturday’s final will be a massive occasion, but the sense of calm in the Bulls training this week would have fooled most standing on the sidelines. This is a team that know they are up for a challenge and will be ready to meet it on Saturday.
This is why Matfield smiled when asked about the Stormers confidence. The Bulls and Springbok lock is one of many in the Bulls side who relish the big occasion, who love the challenge and knows just how big an occasion this is.
“Of course they should have confidence. It should be like that,” Matfield replied when asked about the Stormers confidence. “If they don’t come here thinking they can win then it would be strange. All I know is that it will be a very tough game and they have the right to be confident.
“We are also very confident and we believe in our structures and the stuff we do. We need to do our stuff to have a chance on Saturday.”
Matfield admitted he was happy with the preparations thus far and was looking forward to the big occasion.
“We’re happy where we are at the moment and even though there is a lot of experience in this side, it all comes down to how you manage the week – Saturday will sort itself out. We have concentrated on not wasting too much energy this week, but to rather keep that for Saturday.”
“The final is huge and it is between the two best sides in the competition. Both sides have a lot of confidence and it is a massive game for everyone. The North-South derby is always a bigger game, especially for the spectators and it’s great to see that two South African teams are there.”
The Bulls captain added that while there was always pressure with such a big game, his side knew all too well what was needed to be successful on Saturday.
“There is always pressure but in a final your structure needs to be there. If that is there, then it will create opportunities for your gamebreakers to come through. We are lucky enough to have a few and it is all about making the right decision at the right time. That is the important thing.”
@ Blouste:
GO BUUUUUUUUUUUULLS !!!!!
@ grootblousmile:
All true GBS.
However, the Sharks have shown the Bulls how to get into the faces of that Stormers pack, and the collective muscle of the Bulls pack can wear down the Stormers forwards by making them tackle and work hard in the scrums and at the breakdown.
This is where it will be won, because eventually even a great player like Scalla cannot tackle forever without tiring.
The Bulls have had no equal in this S14 when their big tight forwards are on the charge, wearing down the opposition and with Fourie to dictate play from there.
TH good day mate
21@ tight head:
Hey, hello….
Give me your analysis on these two front rows meeting… rate the props and hookers for us…
Tell us where you feel the front rows are weak and where they are strong… as a unit and individually!
Dagse outoppie van brakkenjanpan lol
TH any news redarding all the rumours flying around regarding the sharks??
@ sharky_forever:
Good day Sharky, GBS.
My view is that as individuals Guthro will have too much for Brok to handle.
On the other side the Stormers are looking for Wickus to do the business on Werner as before, but Werner is vastly improved as a tight head and I cannot see that happenning again.
Both hookers are excellent scrummagers and very good players.
Collectively I expect the scrumming ability of the Bulls tight five to be too much for the Stormers, especially later on in the game.
I think the scrumming of the Bulls locks is a factor in this.
The Bulls have improved their scrumming this season by miles, and the Stormers have come a long way from the “broken Harris ” days with Proudfoot in charge.
However the Stormers scrum has not scrummed well for several games now and the Bulls reserve bench scrummers are much better than the Stormers.
Sorry guys don’t have time to read through the comments but I’ll just say something quick, Verusco shows that Spies has been the best 8th man in the comp for around 5 of the 14 weeks, the closest is Duane at 3 times or something to that degree. I also can’t understand that they chose Matfield @ 4. It is either Bekker or Matfield, not both. Silly silly stuff indeed. Lost a bit of credibility to me
It’s going to be, which team…read it T…E…A…M performs the best. One player doesn’t win a final.
Well, my team is not in the final, but i am very proudly South African, and glad that we have two teams in the final.
Good luck to both teams and their supporters, may rugby win the day, and may the winners be as humble as true champions and the losers gracefull in defeat.
On a personal note, i will give the bulls a 5 point lead because of previous experience in finals.
But remeber that a moment of brilliance can be worth 7 points………..
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