The Stormers’ players can look forward to a lovely Christmas lunch after they beat the Bulls 26-20 for a seventh consecutive time in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday night.
The Bulls came to Cape Town and the DHL Stadium heavy favourites after a very good start in the competition.
Jake White’s team were hoping to break their hoodoo against their Cape southern rivals, having lost six consecutive matches to John Dobson’s team since the advent of the URC competition.
The Cape Town crowd, getting used to rugby in the heart of the December holidays, packed out the DHL Stadium in anticipation of a thriller, hoping that the home side can spark into life against their bitter rivals after a rather ordinary start to the campaign.
And the Stormers produced a top display, despite missing a handful of key players such as Springboks Evan Roos, Warrick Gelant and Herschel Jantjies.
They tackled Bulls back and showed their physicality, while their kicking game was also very good.
The Stormers went into the break 16-10 to the good after a try from Jean-Luc du Plessis and points from the boots of Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse. The Bulls scored two unconverted tries from Reinhard Ludwig and Kurt-Lee Arendse.
The teams then scored one try each in the second half from Ruhan Nel and Canan Moodie, but in the end the Stormers’ kicking off the tee was the difference, with Libbok punishing the Bulls for their indiscretions.
Point scorers:
Stormers - Tries: Jean-Luc du Plessis, Ruhan Nel. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2). Penalties: Libbok (3). Drop goal: Damian Willemse.
Bulls - Tries: Reinhard Ludwig, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie. Conversions: Johan Goosen. Penalty: Chris Smith.
IOL Sport