Bulls now a different beast
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Stormers coach Allister Coetzee knows that the Bulls will be a completely different prospect from the team they beat at Loftus Versfeld.
Having claimed a 29-17 victory in Pretoria in the opening round of Super Rugby this year, the Cape side will be looking for a rare season double over their rivals from the north which would put them firmly in control of the South African conference.
With their tour behind them and five home games to come the Stormers are certainly in a more comfortable position than the Bulls who still have their tour to come, but the visitors have hit some good form in recent weeks, showing an ability to win away from home.
Coetzee has been impressed with the Bulls' resurgence after a tough start to the season, and expects them to test his side far more than they did earlier in the season.
"We are under no illusion that it will be similar to the first game against them, they have got some players back and they have had continuity as well.
"The other thing that is important for any team is when they start winning away from home, they have beaten the Sharks away so it is definitely a different Bulls side altogether.
"Obviously they have got a wealth of experience in their team, if you look at it there are six Springboks in the backline, they have about 12 in their starting line-up and three on the bench so they have got a great side.
"Coupled with that they won six of their last seven games and I am sure they have a lot of confidence. It is a competely changed Bulls side to the first one we met up there at Loftus," he said.
Two of the major differences that Coetzee pointed to were the influence of young fullback Jesse Kriel and an improvement in their set-pieces.
"They have Jesse Kriel at the back now, and when we played them they had Jurgen Visser. I think Jesse is a good player that is comfortable with running kicks back and not just kicking the ball back.
"Obviously they have worked at their set-pieces as well, and I know this was always going to be a set-piece battle," he said.
The Stormers have picked a big pack and will look to be direct and confront the Bulls in what should be a typically physical North-South clash, and Coetzee is confident that they will be up to the task despite having just got back from tour.
"The team that we selected are all physically freshened up, they are ready to play and that is something you can't take a chance with.
"I am happy with the position we are in, we have done the hard work, we came back with 10 points from tour and won two away games in the first couple of rounds so we are in a position where we can really kick on," he said.
However, the Stormers coach did admit that certain players such as Steven Kitshoff and Damian de Allende are due a rest in the weeks to come.
"I think there are certain flags which are red at this point, but I am looking at a more favourable time to make those sorts of rotations," he said.
By Michael de Vries
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