Fleck: Bulls matches still the biggest

The two sides meet this weekend at the Bulls' fortress Loftus Versfeld, but it is the Cape Town side who have held the recent advantage over their rivals.

 

The Stormers defeated the Bulls 20-17 at Newlands earlier this year, and won 23-13 in Pretoria during last year's Super Rugby campaign.

 

"We beat the Bulls in Pretoria last year in Super Rugby and in the Currie Cup – which was a similar side to the one they have now," Stormers assistant coach Robbie Fleck told this website.

 

"We'll have to be strong defensively against the Bulls on Saturday, because they have scored a lot of tries and are a top attacking team at the moment."

 

Fleck is under no illusions about how tough things will be on Saturday and believes the match is the one players from either side really look forward to during the season.

 

"It'll be an amazing atmosphere with more than 50 000 people in the crowd and it's always the game of the season being the traditional derby that it is," he said.

 

"There is nowhere to hide at Loftus and the Bulls basically fax you their gameplan and say 'try and stop us', and they'll put us under severe pressure. 

 

"There is a good feeling in the camp and an excitement in the air with a few youngsters in our side for this big match."

 

The Stormers have had an impressive season, winning 10 of their 12 matches thus far, with an impenetrable defence the key feature in their success. However, last weekend the Sharks became the first side to score three tries against them.

 

Fleck admitted that the defence will need to be watertight against the Bulls, but there is no panic following a 20 minute period when the standards slipped a little against the Sharks.

 

"Our defence has been phenomenal this year and is a key strength for us, but there are going to be games when we slip our guard," he said.

 

The match will spell an end to Super Rugby for a while with the June break about to start, but what a way to end this part of the season.

 

The Bulls supporters will come out in full force for the clash and seeing the whole of Loftus in pink for the day will be an unusual sight.

 

"They seem to be doing well no matter if they wear blue or pink," Fleck quipped.