Stormers continue dominance over Bulls with narrow win at Loftus

The margins are usually tight when these two great rivals meet.

It was the case once again between the Stormers and Bulls  as they were separated by four points during their United Rugby Championship (URC) match which the Stormers narrowly won 23-19 on Saturday.

As a result of this hard-fought match played in front of a near capacity Loftus, in which they scored two tries, the Stormers have pulled off a fifth successive win over the Bulls in this tournament.

This result also sees the defending champions maintain their second spot on the standings behind runaway leaders Leinster as they continue to chase a home knockout.

Though it was nervy in the closing stages, John Dobson’s men did not buckle under pressure from the Bulls and they are enjoying good momentum in this tournament.

At this rate a home knockout looks likely as they enjoy a significant point advantage over the chasing pack of Ulster, Warriors and Munster with the tournament at about the halfway stage.

After successive away losses to the Glasgow Warriors and Ulster a few weeks ago, they have bounced back with convincing victories over the Sharks and the Bulls.

For the Bulls, who welcomed back coach Jake White and Springboks winger Sbu Nkosi, they continue to stutter and they have dropped to sixth on the log after this costly home defeat.

The Bulls fragility on the attack was evident in the closing stages as they could not capitalise on the advantage they had on the edge of the Stormers try line.

The opening exchanges were mostly a kicking contest with Chris Smith putting away four penalties for the home side while Manie Libbok got his one chance from the kicking tee spot on.

The Bulls benefited from uncharacteristic mistakes from the Stormers, largely in their own half, and they were nearly punished inside 15 minutes when Cornal Hendricks knocked the ball not far away from the try line.

As is often the case, the next team to score is mostly the one that has been on the back foot and true to form the Stormers scored the first try when Marcel Theunissen crossed over after he was released by Herschel Jantjies.

The try was ultimately given after a referee Marius van der Westhuizen consulted with television match official (TMO) after suspicion of a forward pass from Jantjies.

The Stormers pulled away by eight points 13 minutes after the restart when substitute Junior Pokomela powered his way over the white line despite disparate attempts by the Bulls to stop him.

But Nkosi, who was making his return to the side after a few months out dealing with mental health issues, made a telling run on the left wing to touch down and drag the Bulls back into the game.

But, Libbok, who scored 13 points in the game, had the final say as he scored a drop goal that won the Stormers the game.

Bulls                (12)     19

Stormers       (13)     23

Bulls

Tries: Sbu Nkosi

Conversions: Morné Steyn (1)  

Penalties: Chris Smith (4)

Stormers

Tries: Marcel Theunissen, Junior Pokomela

Conversions: Manie Libbok (2)

Penalties: Manie Libbok (2)

Drop Goal): Manie Libbok (1)