Stormers director of rugby John Dobson hailed his team’s 13-8 win over the Bulls as being an “amazing” contest and feels these matches are benefiting the Springboks.
The biggest United Rugby Championship (URC) attendance of the season saw the table-topping Stormers make it eight out of eight in the league as they edged a titanic tussle with the Bulls on another weekend of derbies.
They left it late in front of a Cape Town capacity crowd of 53,862, but once again found a way with replacement prop Ntuthuko Mchunu claiming the match-winning score off a lineout drive 90 seconds from time.
10 out of 10
That makes it 10 out of 10 in all competitions for the Stormers, giving director of rugby Dobson further reason to celebrate just days after signing a four-year contract extension.
Giving his verdict on the sold-out showdown with the Bulls, Dobson said: “It was a tough derby.
“What was amazing was the contest everywhere. That’s probably what is making South African rugby so great at the moment, why we win World Cups, that we are so used to this game – scrum, lineout, maul, breakdown, massive contests. It’s just really good for South African rugby.
“You could hear the thuds in the coaching box, which is insulated. It was crazy stuff.
“It was a desperate Bulls team, a good Bulls team. Look how many Springboks were in their pack. So, it’s a good win.”
Providing the view from the visiting camp, Bulls skipper Ruan Nortje said: “Both teams were in it the full 80 minutes and, although there wasn’t a lot of running rugby, I think it was an exciting game.
“All credit to the Stormers for finishing in the 78th minute. That’s why they are top of the log. When they get the opportunities, they finish. We had our opportunities to win the game and just couldn’t execute.”
Still confident
It was a sixth straight defeat for the Bulls in all competitions, and they are down in 11th in the URC table.
But second-row Nortje remains positive, saying: “There’s a lot of belief in this team. We were in this position a few years ago, so I know we will get ourselves out of it.”
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.