Friday’s North-South derby will present a clash in different approaches to the season, but the DHL Stormers are confident that opting for continuity will serve them well against the Vodacom Bulls in Cape Town. DYLAN JACK reports.
The Stormers will host the Vodacom Bulls in a repeat of last season’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship final, when the Capetonians came from behind to claim the title.
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One of the major talking points going into Friday’s derby is the differing approaches taken by the opposing head coaches to balancing the URC and Champions Cup commitments.
While John Dobson has opted to keep field a similar side in both competitions, Jake White has rested most of his heavy hitters for the games against Lyon and Exeter Chiefs.
Many speculate that, travel factor aside, White has rested his main players in order to target this week’s clash, which could prove to be decisive in the South African conference.
“We are not sure,” Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwani said when asked about the Bulls’ approach on Monday. “It could be anything.
“It could be them just wanting a different group of players to experience the Champions League and then a different team to experience the URC.
“From our side, we have no idea. I’m not sure if they are resting players for this game. We don’t know what’s going to run out of the tunnel on Friday, but we just need to make sure we are ready to face whatever comes out. ”
Not keen to give White any ammunition to fire up the Bulls for the derby, Hlungwani only emphasised that the Stormers had full faith in their approach to the season.
“We will have to wait and see on Friday. People have their own plans. We have our own plans. The Bulls have their own plans,” said Hlungwani.
“We back our plans. We will just have to see on the day which approach works. We are comfortable and confident with how we have prepared over the past couple of weeks. It wasn’t just about the game on Friday. It’s a long-term plan that we’ve stuck by. ”
Backing up what his coach said, Willie Engelbrecht added that the team is confident in their preparation for the match.
“Every team has their own way of preparing for games,” the loose forward said. “The way that training is going and that we have got continuity is a good thing.”
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