Bulls v Stormers: Where There’s A Willemse, There’s A Way

The Bulls bossed the first half of the rescheduled Round Eight encounter, but were guilty of not turning that dominance into points. That inability to finish proved not only frustrating but costly for the hosts as the Stormers, despite losing two players to yellow cards, took their chances to lead 10-7 at the interval.

A combination of the Capetonians hitting their straps and the Bulls failing to pitch up after the break saw the Stormers dominate the second half to complete a North-South derby double, with John Dobson’s charges having also clinched a 13-8 win over the men from Pretoria in January.   

Our top three standouts were:

Damian Willemse

Willemse personified the Stormers’ showing, from standing up, dusting himself off and getting right back into the fight after being steamrolled by Elrigh Louw to landing the counterpunch that changed the complexion of the game in the first half and taking the match away from the vaunted hosts in the second stanza.

The veteran wasn’t just Rocky-esque in inspiring his teammates to rally after a brutal first quarter, in particular, and leaving the Bulls on the ropes by the end, but also a virtuoso.

The multi-talented playmaker ran a brilliant line to slice through the defence and put the Stormers on the board, and showed that fantastic vision again to spot space at the back and push a perfectly-weighted kick through for Hacjivah Dayimani to dot down the bonus point try.  

Massive in the midfield and when he shifted to fullback late in the game, the uber-determined and dynamic Willemse deservedly walked away with the Man of the Match award.

Andre-Hugo Venter

Venter was both a problem-solver and a sledgehammer.

Heading into the clash, the Capetonians’ accuracy and efficiency in the lineout had fallen off Table Mountain. At Loftus, they turned that weakness into a strength, and Venter played a key role in that transformation.

The son of legendary Springbok Andre Venter fired on all cylinders, not just with his lineout throwing, storming straight into traffic and getting over the gainline relentlessly. The highlight when it came to the hooker’s hard running was seeing him sit down Handre Pollard.

That he stood up in a big game as he did and outplayed Johan Grobbelaar, a man ahead of him in the Springbok pecking order, in the Pretoria pressure cooker, would’ve been the cherry on top for the 24-year-old.

Canan Moodie

The best Bulls player by a country mile, Moodie pulled out all the stops but still couldn’t carry his team to victory.

South African rugby fans are so spoilt at the moment that Moodie, who’s equally adept at centre as he is on the wing, isn’t always appreciated for the special talent he is.

The 23-year-old, who already has 23 Test caps to his name, showcased all of those special qualities in this clash – his strength in the carry and tackle fight, his underrated distribution, his ability to create something out of nothing and retain restarts, plus his strong defence.

A man with the magic touch, Moodie gave the Bulls – who were down to 13-man at the time – a bit of hope with a delicate grubber and tap try assist for Zak Burger to make it 25-14, but there was no coming back for Johan Ackermann’s men.