Respect for the Bulls and reward for the Stormers. This was thenorth v south derbyall of South Africa has wanted for some time. Brutal, never brilliant, but so beautiful.
The Stormers won 13-8 after leading 8-5 at halftime. For those who fancy a good time, music, plenty of tries and no defence, book your ticket for the Sevens in Cape Town in December. For those who appreciate a game of rugby, between two heavyweights, this was power.
There were plenty of mistakes. It is called pressure. The very best looked mortal in a swirling wind.
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Handre Pollard kicked one from four. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked one from three and missed two penalty kicks to the corner. The two best No 10s in South Africa, and in the top four of world rugby, were reduced to mortals, if particularly talented ones, on a day when South African rugby won, by way of a 54 000-crowd attendance, and an unrelenting derby contest.
The Bulls started with 10 of the current Springboks squad. The Stormers had seven in their starting XV. This showcased the quality of the players on display, but even these giants of world rugby struggled against the wind that blew strong and hard from the heights of Table Mountain.
This was a proper South African derby rugby:rof en onbeskof[rough and rude] The big rock in the back of the DHL Stadium was covered with what seemed like white candy floss, but there was nothing fluffy about the contest. Rugby is a game won by defence, when the two giants throw legal hands for 81 minutes. Credit to the Bulls, who finally looked like Johan Ackermann’s team.
They played with desire, with discipline and they scrambled on defence. This was not the team that consistently leaked five tries a match in all competitions. They will get stronger in the league and they will trouble teams, home and away.
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