This was a whipping. All hail Jake White and his bulldozing and belligerent Bulls.
It should have been 50 points for the Bulls, so less than 20 in points differential was kind to the Stormers.
The Bulls led 19-15 at halftime but the only surprise was that they were not leading by 50.
The dominance was all the Bulls, who had lost seven matches in succession to the Stormers.
Somehow the Stormers were a score within leading at halftime, but then spent eight minutes cocking up every scoring opportunity in the opening of the second half. The ineptitude, coupled with the Bulls’ bullishness, meant that at 50 minutes that one score was only going to get better for the hosts.
It did, with the Stormers making a mess of everything that was simple in execution and Jake’s Bulls turning every half chance into a victory dance.
White’s Bulls have suffered against the Stormers in the URC, losing seven in succession, but in Pretoria on Saturday night, their absolute whipping of the Stormers was the equal of seven wins. Never have the Stormers been so absent in this derby.
The effort from the Cape based squad was disgraceful. You don”t have to be in Monday’s video session to appreciate the interaction between coach and player. You simply haver to watch the match.
White’s Bulls, now eight from eleven in the URC, monstered their southern rivals.
I had the Stormers to win by double digits; a pre-match prediction as awful as the Stormers performance.
All credit to the 2007 World Cup winning Springboks coach White, who finally settled the Dobson debate in the most emphatic manner.
The Bulls were such easy winners, but I don’t get the limpness of this Stormers effort. It is one thing to lose, but quite another to roll over.
It is one thing to talk about a match played in front of 50 000 and then not arrive for it.
The Bulls did not want to lose for an eighth time against the Stormers. The losers played as if they did not care to lose for the first time in eight. Their discipline was diabolical. They were just not at the races. It was a disgusting from the Stormers and delightful from the Bulls.
It was a big moment of truth from both teams and both coaches, especially in the way the Bulls won and the Stormers waved the white flag.
The Bulls win is big for their home play-off prospects and perhaps this will be a humbling blessing for the Stormers that history doesn’t win tournaments and history doesn’t win matches. They were as awful as they have been awesome in the URC but if they are to make it to final eight, they need a bit more awful in their honesty than awesome in their strut.
Src: keo.co.za
