URC Round 13 - Teams and Predictions
RESCHEDULED DERBIES: It is derby time in South Africa again and there is a lot riding on this weekend's games.
It all kicks off in Cape Town on Saturday with the North-South derby between the Stormers and the Bulls. That match will be followed by the clash between the Sharks and Lions in Durban.
There is also a rescheduled Round Eight derby between Cardiff and Scarlets in Wales.
The Stormers enter this weekend in the sixth position on 43 points, which is just one point ahead of the Bulls, who are in the seventh position.
Both teams enter the match in fine form and the winner will be in pole position for the South African Shield crown.
Stormers head coach John Dobson knows that his team will be up against a Bulls team seeking revenge for a 26-30 defeat in Pretoria in January.
Dobson also knows that the Bulls have evolved into an attacking force out wide with several star performers.
The Bulls' tally of 171 offloads is the most in the URC, with Marcell Coetzee accounting for 29 of those.
The Stormers may top the charts for clean breaks collectively, but it is a pair of Bulls players who lead the way individually. Kurt-Lee Arendse and Madosh Tambwe have made 17 apiece while they also share top spot for metres gained with 813.
"We got to be aware of the threat of certain individuals," said Dobson.
"Kurt-Lee has been brilliant. When you got individual runners like that and when you kick it is going to be important in terms of what sort of pressure you can put them under.
"We are maybe more aware of that than in the past, but I still think there is still a lot of their old DNA there as well."
Dobson is wary of the Bulls' powerful runners in the pack.
"When you playing the Bulls there is a heightened awareness around the gainline," Dobson explained.
"If they get momentum there then they are a difficult team to stop. I don't want to sound like a cliche every week, but this is one game where the gainline is absolutely everything.
"If they do create situations through good setups or good coaching with forwards running onto backs, then we will have to man-up and our backs are going to have to make those double tackles and whatever they need to do to stop the momentum."
Meanwhile, Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White said his opponents will be even tougher than when they last met in January.
"After a few weeks of testing ourselves against some of the top overseas sides, we are excited to be involved in a local derby this week against an in-form side like the Stormers,” said White.
"We expect a very tough match in Cape Town. The Stormers have shown over the past few weeks how much of a competitive side they are in the URC.
"They beat us at Loftus Versfeld in our last encounter, and they will definitely be an even tougher opponent this weekend in their own backyard."
White said the clash of styles will be an intriguing aspect of the game.
"We saw how they beat us last time," White added. "They got a good start, so we need to start well.
"I just think it is going be one of those real North-South clashes.
"There will be opportunities for both teams. We got to make sure that the experience comes through.
"They got a certain style they play, we got a certain style we play and that is what is nice about tomorrow [Saturday]. It is to see who can get the styles right."
Lions enter the Shark Tank
In Durban, the Sharks are bracing themselves for a resurgent Lions team.
The Lions are currently on a four-game winning streak with a number of their players striking a rich vein of form.
"If you look at their results since Jordan Hendrikse [flyhalf] has been back, the Lions have improved a lot," said Sharks head coach Sean Everitt.
"Morne van den Berg [scrumhalf] is playing really well. But one has to give credit to the defence.
"They have defended with a lot of character, with a lot of energy and I think that is the area that they have improved in the most."
Despite some inconsistent performances, Everitt believes his team is on an upward trajectory.
"Over the last couple of weeks, it has been tough from a result point of view against Edinburgh [5-21]. We dominated the game in every aspect, but didn’t get over the chalk in that one," said the Sharks coach.
"I thought we strung some good phases together and we played some good attacking rugby when presented with the opportunity on Friday against the Dragons [51-3].
"We all understand where the Dragons are on the log, but it was a stronger team that they put out.
"In saying that, to put 50 on a team you really have to play well.
"We know the Lions go hard at the ball at defensive breakdowns, so we really have to be sharp when we have ball in hand."
Meanwhile, Lions head coach Ivan Rooyen believes the wet conditions in Durban will be a key factor.
"From what we have seen and what we have heard, it is going to be quite wet. In that essence it is difficult to get the same tempo as we do at altitude back home, " said Van Rooyen.
"I think it is going to be a very intense physical game. I think both teams will pride themselves on that.
"Can we replicate the tempo? Probably not.
"Because it might be a step slower due to the wet conditions, the physicality and intensity is going to be massive."
*All the Saturday teams and predictions are below!
Saturday, April 9
Stormers v Bulls
(Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town - Kick-off: 14.00; 12.00 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Stormers by three points.
Teams:
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Junior Pokomela, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Warrick Gelant.
Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Madosh Tambwe, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Cornal Hendricks.
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa) and Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Sharks v Lions
(Kings Park, Durban - Kick-off: 16.05; 14.05 GMT)
Prediction
@rugby365com: Sharks by five points.
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phendulani Buthelezi, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Gerbrandt Grobler, 3 Thomas du Toit (captain), 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nche.
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Le Roux Roets, 20 Jeandre Labushagne, 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Henry Chamberlain.
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Manuel Rass, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Francke Horn, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (captain), 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Pieter Botha, 1 Sithembiso Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Jean-Pierre Smith, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Sibusiso Sangweni, 20 Jarod Cairns, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Henco van Wyk, 23 Tiaan Swanepoel.
Referee: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Additional source: @URCOfficial