The North-South derby again underlined why it remains such a compelling fixture. The Bulls arrived with form and confidence behind them and there was an expectation that their physical strengths would carry weight. The Stormers were composed in the face of that and their resistance in the key passages ensured that the balance of the contest never settled for long.
What follows is a look at six moments that exerted real influence on the flow of the match. Each moment is accompanied by a video that shows how the patterns unfolded in real time and why the visitors were able to push clear as the pressure points accumulated.
1. AN EARLY STATEMENT THAT LED NOWHERE
The Bulls looked like they were making a statement about their scrum when they were awarded a scrum penalty at the first set piece just under four minutes into the game. The Bulls instructed Handre Pollard to kick for the corner rather than build early scoreboard pressure by kicking for posts and it turned into a proper opportunity wasted as Pollard kicked the penalty touch in goal, which released the pressure and handed the Stormers possession.
2. A LINEOUT REMINDER OF WORK WELL DONE
When the Stormers’ winning run was unexpectedly ended by the Sharks in Cape Town in January it was very much their mistakes in the lineout that cost them.
But from an early stage of the Loftus game they made it clear they had worked on that aspect of set piece play and instead it was the Bulls who set the tone by having an attacking lineout turned over 10 minutes in. It was to remain the trend for the rest of the game.
3. A SIMPLE DECISION THAT SHIFTED THE TEMPO
While the Bulls eschewed their opportunities to kick for posts, something that was questionable in what was a tight game early on, the Stormers went for posts with all their kickable attempts.
Sacha Feinberg Mngomezulu missed an early attempt but when presented with an opportunity on the stroke of halftime with the scores locked at 7-all following a good try from Damian Willemse after half an hour, the Bok flyhalf gave the Stormers their crucial halftime lead and psychological edge with a three-pointer to make it 10-7 to the visitors at the halfway mark.
4. DEFENCE THAT STIFFENED WHEN IT MATTERED MOST
After their errors of the first half and the systematic way the Stormers forwards seemed to be building into the game and giving their team momentum, it was important for the Bulls to start well in the second half. They got an opportunity when an aerial battle tap back fell fortuitously for them straight after the restart and thus started a prolonged 21-phase attack reminiscent of one launched by England against the Springboks in the World Cup final in Japan six years ago.
Just like in Yokohama in 2019, it proved a crucial moment in the game as the Stormers' defence stood firm, with their discipline and patience exemplary, with the Bulls eventually running out of room and patience as Willie le Roux kicked the ball into touch in goal. It was a crucial psychological blow on the Stormers’ part.
5. A SCRUM BATTLE THAT QUIETLY TURNED
Soon after that it became evident that what had been a comparatively even first-half scrum battle was now being completely bossed by the Stormers, with Bulls coach Johan Ackermann perhaps erring by replacing his first-choice front row too soon.
There again, the Stormers are becoming renowned for the front row depth they have developed and the Zimbabwean-born former KZN schoolboy Vernon Matongo is sure to become a Springbok once he has his South African citizenship, while the explosive Sazi Sandi is underrated as a tighthead. This scrum penalty came in the 48th minute as an indication of a tide that had already turned in the Stormers’ favour.
6. A MAUL THAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE
It was mainly the devastating effects of the Stormers’ maul in the second half that sapped the Bulls’ energy and made it look like it was they who were feeling the effects of the altitude rather than the coastal team.
Their path to victory became an inexorable one when the impressive Paul de Villiers was able to dot down from an attacking lineout that provided the platform for an unstoppable drive that put the Stormers more than a score ahead for the first time.
CONCLUSION
By the closing stages the shape of the contest was clear. The Bulls had enjoyed promising platforms but did not translate enough of them into sustained pressure on the scoreboard, whereas the Stormers settled into their work, trusted their detail at the set piece and defended with composure when the strain was at its highest.
The shift in scrum influence after the interval and the accuracy around the lineout maul gave the visitors the control they had been seeking, and the discipline that underpinned those passages allowed them to close the game out with authority. It was a result built on patience and clarity, and it fitted the way the evening developed.