Stormers vs Bulls: Battle of the brains

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In anticipation of the first Vodacom United Rugby Championship north-south derby in Cape Town, DYLAN JACK previews the battle of the halfback combinations.

Manie Libbok vs Chris Smith

Having successfully resurrected his career in the Cape, Libbok is currently the season’s leading points-scorer with 116 to his name. In his first season with the Stormers, Libbok has scored three tries and kicked 25 conversions and 17 penalties. The 24-year-old has formed a deadly tactical kicking trio with Damian Willemse and Warrick Gelant, while he is also a major threat with ball in hand. He is currently ranked 14th in the URC for clean breaks (9th) and has made more than double the number of carries of his opposite number (72).

Smith, meanwhile, has seamlessly succeeded veteran Morne Steyn as the Bulls starting flyhalf. While he is currently fifth on the season’s points-scorers list, trailing Libbok by 23 points, it should be mentioned that he has only started in seven of his 13 appearances this season, while Libbok started in all 13 of his. The 27-year-old tends to sit far deeper in the pocket and distributes the ball, illustrated by the fact that he has yet to make a clean break and has only made 33 carries to date. However, his kicking game will definitely test the sharpness of the Stormers defence.

Herschel Jantjies vs Embrose Papier

By putting pen to paper on a new contract with the Stormers until 2024, Jantjies has taken ‘the grass is not always greener’ approach to his short-term future. The 24-year-old has struggled to hit the heights of his breakthrough 2019 season, but there have been signs this year that he is starting to hit a purple patch of form. Having scored a try to help the Stormers claim a rare win at Loftus in January, Jantjies underlined his status a big-game, big-moment player and the Bulls will have to keep a sharp eye on his support lines.

After falling off the national radar since his Test debut in 2018, Papier has blossomed under Fourie du Preez’s mentorship. There have been notable improvements in Papier’s game management, while he still has that eye for a gap in the defence. In 11 appearances – eight of those in the starting lineup – Papier has made six clean breaks, 32 carries and four offloads and clearly isn’t afraid to get involved out wide.

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Dylan Jack