Northward bound: Still the right move for South African rugby?
So the dust has settled on the inaugural United Rugby Championship tournament, with the Stormers celebrating a deserved first championship win over the Bulls…
The Stormers are the overwhelming favourites to take a win against the Kings when the two sides clash in the wee hours of Sunday morning (AEDT). Join The Roar live scores from the match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, kicking off at 12:05am (AEDT).
The Kings have a 1-1 record at this stage but that comes largely due to the fact that they have played two of their fellow battlers in the Super Rugby competition.
In Round 1 a fortnight ago they came up against the Jaguares, but weren’t able to get a win at home and went down by 13 points.
Last week in Round 2 they then travelled to face the Sunwolves, and were able to take a 14-point win there, getting their first on the board for the year.
The standard is set to rapidly increase when they come up against the Stormers. The Jaguares and Sunwolves have five wins combined between them last year, the Stormers had double that, alone.
In Round 1 they defeated the Bulls by 13 points at home, and then had a closer affair against the Jaguares winning by seven points at home in Round 2.
Not having to have left home yet, they’ll have an extra advantage over a side that is returning from a trip to Singapore.
The Kings have played fifteen matches against other South African teams, and three of them against the Stormers – they haven’t won a single one.
The last time these two sides met, it was the Stormers victorious by a very comfortable margin of 28 points.
Prediction
Given the history between these two sides and the quality of both teams on paper, it doesn’t seem to be a question of whether or not the Stormers will win, but rather by how much.
Stormers by 25.
Join The Roar live scores from the match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, kicking off at 12:05am (AEDT).