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'Test match' URC derby draws enormous crowd in South Africa

Akker van der Merwe races away from Herschel Jantjies Credit: Inpho,ie

Jake White says the South African derby between his Vodacom Bulls and the DHL Stormers – which drew the second biggest crowd of the season in the BKT URC – was like a Test match.

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The visiting Vodacom Bulls came out on top by the narrowest of margins in Cape Town as they won a nine-try thriller 33-32 to strengthen their grip on third spot in the league table and move within two points of second-placed Glasgow Warriors.

“These derbies are what it is all about,” said their head coach White.

“People will talk about this north-south derby for a long, long time. It felt a bit like a Test.

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      “There were moments where it looked like we were going to win and then all a sudden there were times where everyone thought the Stormers were going to win.

      Fixture
      United Rugby Championship
      Stormers
      32 - 33
      Full-time
      Bulls
      All Stats and Data

      “That’s what you want – not as a coach because you get old! – but as a supporter you want to be able to watch a game like that and go ‘Jeez, that’s great entertainment’

      “Literally, until the last play of the game, it could have gone the other way.

      “The Stormers were never going to go away. They were always going to ask questions that no other team would ask us anywhere. It’s not an easy ride to come here.

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      “I am very happy that we got a bonus point win.”

      The derby clash attracted a crowd of 47,171, a figure only surpassed in the BKT URC this season by the 80,468 that watched Leinster Rugby take on Munster Rugby at Croke Park in October.

      “I said to the Cape Town people that I really think it’s unbelievable you fill your stadium,” revealed White.

      “It just shows how important rugby is and it’s also a compliment to the Bulls.

      Head-to-Head

      Last 5 Meetings

      Wins
      3
      Draws
      0
      Wins
      2
      Average Points scored
      26
      26
      First try wins
      60%
      Home team wins
      60%

      “If you say this is the big fixture, then at least I know we are doing something right.”

      Reflecting further on the occasion, he said: “If you want to be remembered as one of the best players, you have got to play well in the biggest games.

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      “That was the challenge I gave the group as individuals and as a team – how good will we be in front of a full house in Cape Town?

      “Playing in front of a crowd like that can only be a benefit to us. The more our players experience this, the more they feel that pressure, the more they are exposed to this, the better it’s going to be.”

      It proved to be a fluctuating contest, with the Vodacom Bulls being outscored by five tries to four, but coming out on top through the boot of centre David Kriel who landed five shots at goal.

      Match Summary

      1
      Penalty Goals
      3
      5
      Tries
      4
      2
      Conversions
      2
      0
      Drop Goals
      0
      134
      Carries
      73
      9
      Line Breaks
      7
      13
      Turnovers Lost
      15
      3
      Turnovers Won
      7

      There was late drama when the Stormers had the chance to snatch the spoils after flanker Ben-Jason Dixon touched down in the 78th minute, but Clayton Blommetjies was off target with his conversion attempt.

      Assessing the game, White said: “It was almost like we got out of jail, but we put ourselves there so many times. It was our own mistakes. There were ten minutes of madness before half time.

      “We tried everything we could to actually lose that game! The fact we got out of it and won is fantastic, but we are going to have to be a little bit more controlled and composed. There were times when we were rushing it too much.”

      Giving his thoughts, DHL Stormers coach John Dobson said: “It was a home derby in front of our people and it’s disappointing to lose.

      “But I am very proud of the way we fought at the end. We were so imperious in the last 20 or 30 minutes and we were so close to winning it.

      “It was a really good performance in lots of ways and we were unlucky to lose.”

      The DHL Stormers picked up two bonus points in defeat to move up a couple of places to tenth in the BKT URC.

      “That’s probably the end of our top four dream. We’ve just got to fight our way into the top eight,” said Dobson.

      “It’s going to be tough, but this team will rise. They’ll always find their way back.”

      They now face two more all-South African fixtures, with a trip to Johannesburg to take on the Emirates Lions coming up this Saturday followed by the return fixture against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria on March 1.

      “The next two away derbies are tough,” admitted Dobson.

      “That’s why this result is disappointing. If we had won, we would feel a bit better in ourselves and have a bit more of a buffer. Now the pressure is properly on for next weekend at Ellis Park.”

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      Comments

      2 Comments
      J
      JW 112 days ago

      Good to hear things had gone a bit quite after the euphoria of the RWC. What was the biggest crowd so far, oh that Dublin one huh.

      R
      RedWarriors 113 days ago

      A might game. Bulls are still de facto only 8 points behind Leinster with Leinster having to go for two matches in SA after the 6N. I think Leinster wont be beaten with home advantage this year in the playoffs. Bulls have a couple of more home games now they must win to put pressure on Leinster. Then the league points will tighten if Leinster lose in SA.

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      RedWarriors 28 minutes ago
      Rassie Erasmus wades into heated debate over Jaden Hendrikse antics

      The information regarding the breaking of electoral law was of course taken from public judgements and reports by the UK Electoral Commission. The Leave campaign cheated to the effect of £1 million in the last week. They were slapped a £20k fine.


      Arron Banks, who was on the brink of bankrupcy, could not explain where his UK company got the £8 million donated to UKIP and Leave.EU It came from a foreign company via Banks Isle of Man company. You fasc1sts throw around the term ‘Traitor’ a lot but how is undermining a democratic vote with foreign money not treasonous?


      Vikings: Brian Boru beat them at battle of Clontarf in 1014.

      Normans: English fell in 1066. They capitulated and have been sucking aristocratic c**k ever since. Normans were subsumed into Gaelic culture. Thomond as you will know (or not, youre an idiot) from rugby was a temporary Norman earldom reverting to the Gaelic Theas Mumha. See also Ormond and Desmond, you moron.

      Catholic Church: The English completely capitulated to Rome. In the Sinod of Lindisfarne Ireland declared they would stay independent. That was the reason the Normans invaded apparently due to a Papal Bull (you complete moron).

      English/British: It took Tens of thousands of Saxon soldiers to take Ireland and you were never able to hold it properly or subdue the population. That is what morons like you hare us. There has been a rebellion every generation. We kicked you out in 1921 after a two year war. That began the disintegration of the British empire. While we were in the UK other nations and ordinary English people did get the benefit of Irish agitation outside and inside parliament re land, human rights etc.


      The best outcome had to have been the disintegration of the British Empire. The most paras1tic the world has ever seen.

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