Bulls
40
70
Stormers
3
| H. Pollard |  | 70 | ||
| H. Pollard | | 54 | ||
| H. Pollard | | 50 | ||
| H. Pollard |  | 45 | ||
| J. Kriel |  | 44 | ||
| H. Pollard | | 24 | ||
| J. Kotze | | 23 | ||
| H. Pollard | | 19 | ||
| R. Speckman | | 18 | ||
| 10 | | S. Marais | ||
| H. Pollard | | 5 | ||
| R. Speckman | | 3 |
| 4 | Tries | 0 | ||
| 4 | Conversions | 0 | ||
| 3 | Penalty Goals | 1 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
Match result:
The Bulls have sent a warning to the rest of the competition with a truly dominant 40-3 victory over the Stormers.
Final score
Bulls 40
Stormers 3
Match preview:
The penultimate game of Round 1 takes place overnight at Loftus Versfeld, where the Bulls host the Stormers. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 2:15am AEDT.
The Bulls have undergone a number of changes in the offseason, most notably their coach, John Mitchell going to the England’s national team to coach defence, as Pote Human from the Currie Cup side gets the nod.
Duane Vermuelen, Paul Schoeman and Schalk Brits headline the list of new players, in a team which loses Francois Brummer and Pierre Schoeman, with Adriaan Strauss retiring as well.
The hosts haven’t played a final since 2013, finishing ninth in 2014-2016, before falling to 15th in 2017 and creeping up to 12th last year.
The Stormers qualified for the playoffs from 2015 to 2017, making the top three in all those years, but a disastrous six-win season in 2018 dropped them to 11th.
The Capetown locals keep a pretty solid roster from 2018, with only one major loss, that of defensive liability Raymond Rhule, who moves to Grenoble.
The Bulls tasted victory six times in 2018, five of those at Loftus Versfeld, their hometown scalps being the Hurricanes, Stormers, Rebels, Sharks and Jaguares.
The Stormers have won six of the past eight matches between these two sides, dating back to 2015, but surprisingly don’t go in as favourites.
The Bulls will probably push the Stormers hard, but they’re still getting used to a new coach, and the Stormers should win it.
Stormers by 9.
Time: 2:15am AEDT
Venue: Loftus Versfeld
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Odds: Bulls $1.66, Stormers $2.23
Bulls
1. Lizo Gqoboka, 2. Schalk Brits, 3. Trevor Nyakane, 4. Jason Jenkins, 5. Lood de Jager, 6. Ruan Steenkamp, 7. Hanro Liebenberg, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 9. Embrose Papier, 10. Handré Pollard, 11. Rosko Specman, 12. Burger Odendaal, 13. Jesse Kriel, 14. Johnny Kotze, 15. Warrick Gelant.
Reserves: 16. Corniel Els, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Dayan van der Westhuizen, 19. Eli Snyman, 20. Thembelani Bholi, 21. Ivan van Zyl, 22. Manie Libbok, 23. Dylan Sage.
Stormers
1. Ali Vermaak, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 3. Wilco Louw, 4. Salmaan Moerat, 5. JD Schickerling, 6. Siya Kolisi (c), 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 9. Jano Vermaak, 10. Damian Willemse, 11. Sp Marais, 12. Damian de Allende, 13. Ruhan Nel, 14. JJ Engelbrecht, 15. Dillyn Leyds.
Reserves: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Kobus van Dyk, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23 Dan du Plessis.
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Wow. Pretty surprised by this result based on the form of these two teams during the Currie Cup only a few months ago.... sure the Boks are back and Bulls have new players too, but many of the players and the cores of the teams are still there
Tom English
Roar Guru
Goodnight, seeya next time.
Tom English
Roar Guru
FULLTIME: Bulls 40, Stormers 3. Completely comprehensive, Stormers never looked like scoring even one try, let alone winning as the Bulls crushed them by 37 points. If I were a Stormers fan, I'd be very depressed right now, while things are really looking good for Bulls fans.
Tom English
Roar Guru
Won. Maul now, Ntubeni running, tackled, and we're five out. Steph du Toit held up five out. Fouche nailed. Penalty Bulls! What an absolutely dominating performance. Killed it. And they kick it into the stands.
Tom English
Roar Guru
Won by the Stormers, kicked ahead...Libbok happy to kick it into the stands. Clock goes red. Bulls 40 Stormers 3 '80 – final play.
Tom English
Roar Guru
Bulls win the scrum, Gelant tackled near the 5m line. Penalty Stormers, and we enter the final minute. Bulls 40 Stormers 3 '80
Tom English
Roar Guru
Knocked on from the restart, Stormers now have it. du Plessis dumped, now knocked on cold! Out to Specman, the absolute legend. Chip and chase, hasn't quite worked out, but knockon. Bulls 40 Stormers 3 '79
Tom English
Roar Guru
Pollard sees it through. Bulls 40 Stormers 3 '78
Tom English
Roar Guru
Penalty Stormers, they tap and go. Hitting the D line, not really getting over it. Turnover! Penalty for not releasing, the Bulls getting right over it. They kick for touch, find it, and you'd expect to see them keep the visitors tryless. Taken right at the back. Wide they go to the wing, they get a penalty advantage and when a chip and chase doesn't go to plan, penalty. Lining up the shot. Bulls 37 Stormers 3 '77
Tom English
Roar Guru
Reset here. Won, and kicked down field. Tapped back by the Bulls, or was it a knockon. Yeah, knock on against the Bulls. Bulls 37 Stormers 3 '74
Tom English
Roar Guru
Jean-Luc du Plessis lost that forward, now the Bulls kick through and back we go for the knock on. Bulls 37 Stormers 3 '72
Tom English
Roar Guru
Handre Pollard on fire, three penalties from longer distances all kicked. Bulls 37 Stormers 3 '72
70
Tom English
Roar Guru
Penalty now to the Bulls for offside. Shot at goal here, 40 out, pretty much in front. Bulls 34 Stormers 3 '70
Tom English
Roar Guru
Bulls win their scrum, going down but play continues. And they clear into touch. Bulls 34 Stormers 3 '69
Tom English
Roar Guru
van Zyl, Fourie Ntubeni all take it to contact, Leyds taken. Knocked on. Bulls 34 Stormers 3 '68
Tom English
Roar Guru
Penalty Stormers. du Plessis goes into touch. van Dyk into the defenders, penalty advantage now for offside. Here's the penalty and an official warning. Scrum opted. Stormers 9 out. Bulls 34 Stormers 3 '67
Tom English
Roar Guru
They win the lineout, the Stormers, but now a knockon will cost them possession. Bulls 34 Stormers 3 '64
Tom English
Roar Guru
Stormers' kick goes into touch, they win another lineout but the ball is turned over after their maul. Pollard directly into touch. Bulls 34 Stormers 3 '62
Tom English
Roar Guru
The lineout turns into a maul, here's a box kick from Papier. Pass was a shocker, and while the Stormers had an advantage that pass went straight into touch. Bulls 34 Stormers 3 '61