Flanker Marco van Staden expects a battle to “get over the line” when the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers clash in the north-south derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The traditional rivals will renew hostilities in Pretoria, after a week’s break in the Vodacom URC, with the Stormers looking to make it eight consecutive wins against the Bulls in the competition.
John Dobson’s charges also lead the charge for the SA Shield on 17 points from their four local duels, but they are closely followed by the Highvelders with 15.
The Bulls and Stormers made it two out of two against the Lions and Sharks, respectively, prior to the hiatus, and addressing the media on The Herd’s next all-SA showdown, Van Staden is primed for another war of attrition.
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“It’s been a tough few times against the Stormers but it’s not for us to focus on them. We have to do the things we do extra well,” he said.
“It’s always a fight, any derby game in South Africa is a fight to get over the line. But for us, it’s going to be about doing the basics well and control what we can control.
“You take any momentum you can get and go forward. There’s never a perfect game and we’ll take the things we did well [against the Lions] and improve on it. There’s always work to be done.”
Scrum plough Wilco Louw (knee) is set to return for Jake White’s troops and beef up the front row, with Van Staden emphasising the importance of laying a platform for the backs to launch.
“A big part of the game is the set piece and the base we as forwards can give the backs like Canan Moodie, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Devon Williams,” he added.
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix
The post Bulls fired up for Stormers ‘fight’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
