Breaking their Super Rugby seal South African titans the Bulls defend their turf against the form side of 2012, the Stormers, in this heavyweight Super Rugby match-up.
Venu: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria.
Kickoff Friday 22 Feb:
Local – 19:10
23 Feb AUS – 04:10 (Sydney)
23 Feb NZ – 06:10 (Auck)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Weather: Dry warm/hot conditions with a moderate breeze.
Sides: Bulls Run-on: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (c), 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Morne Mellett. Bench: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Francois Venter. Injured: Akona Ndungane, Dean Greyling, Jacques Potgieter and Wilhelm Steenkamp.
Stormers: Run-on: 15. Jaco Taute, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Jean de Villiers (c), 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Rynhardt Elstadt, 6. Siya Kolisi, 5. Andries Bekker, 4. De Kock Steenkamp, 3. Pat Cilliers, 2. Deon Fourie, 1. Steven Kitshoff. Bench : 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. Frans Malherbe, 18. Don Armand, 19. Nizaam Carr, 20. Dewaldt Duvenage, 21. Gerhard van den Heever, 22. Joe Pietersen. Injured: Eben Etzebeth, Schalk Burger.
Previous results:
Bulls: Away 38 – 32 Lions
Home 32 – 10 Cheetahs (most recent fixture)
Stormers: Away 26 – 27 Cheetahs
Home 57 – 0 Boland (most recent fixture)
Betting: Outright: 6/4 v.s 4/6
Handicap: +3 v.s -3
The Bulls have achieved impressive results in preseason fixtures which were more challenging than those of the Stormers. Altitude is always a large factor in early season Super Rugby fixtures with the Stormers likely to slow down in the last 20 minutes of the match. Injuries are rife in both squads with the Bulls having the worst of it.
Prediction: Bulls to win.
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