Cape Town - Stormers coach Allister Coetzee says Saturday’s Super Rugby derby against the Bulls at Newlands will be similar to a Test match atmosphere.
The Bulls currently top the standings in the SA Conference with 28 points, with the Stormers narrowly behind on 26 points.
But the Bulls still have to tour Australasia and only two of their final seven encounters are at home. The Stormers on the other hand play five of their remaining seven matches at home.
Saturday's clash could therefore go a long way in determining the winner in the SA Conference.
“It doesn’t get much bigger than a North-South derby at Newlands, does it?” Coetzee told the Stormers’ official website.
“The Bulls are the SA Conference leaders, they have six Springboks in their pack and six in their backline with three more on the bench. It’s a powerful team and a team that has won six out of their last seven games - we’re expecting a Test match-like battle on Saturday.
“We know we weren’t at our best last weekend (against the Force), but we have had to train smartly in this short week to make the necessary improvements and adjustments in our game against this strong Bulls team.”
Kick-off for Saturday’s clash at Newlands is scheduled for 19:10.
Teams:
Stormers
15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Johnny Kotze, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Pat Howard, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Huw Jones
Bulls
15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Callie Visagie, 17 Morne Mellet, 18 Arno Botha, 19 Lappies Labuschagne, 20 Akona Ndungane, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Jurgen Visser, 23 Trevor Nyakane