Stats reveal Stormers' incredible defensive feat against Bulls
STATISTICAL SPOTLIGHT: The Stormers’ strong defensive performance in Saturday’s North-South derby helped pave the way for their victory.
The Capetonians only conceded one try in their 23-19 win, which is impressive if you consider that the Bulls had 64 percent of the possession.
The Bulls were also in the right areas of the field as they dominated territory (62 percent) at Loftus.
However, the Stormers held firm, especially in the closing stages of the game when they were camped inside their own 22.
According to the URC’s stats, the Stormers made a whopping 186 tackles compared to the Bulls’ 54 in the match.
The Capetonians had a far superior tackle success rate at 90 percent compared to the Bulls’ 78 percent.
The story continues below…
Probably the most interesting stat comes in the form of dominant tackles.
According to @OptaJonny, The Stormers “made 26 dominant tackles against the Bulls at the weekend, the most by any team in a URC match this season”.
Loose forward Deon Fourie was the standout as he made the most dominant tackles by any player in a game this campaign (five).
Fourie’s back-row partner Marcel Theunissen made the most tackles (20) overall in Saturday’s match.
26 – @THESTORMERS made 26 dominant tackles against the Bulls at the weekend, the most by any team in a URC match this season, while Deon Fourie made the most dominant tackles by any player in a game this campaign (5). Thunderous. pic.twitter.com/xssu237oUu
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) February 20, 2023
Another key area was the breakdowns.
The Stormers won nine turnovers compared to the Bulls’ two
And again, Fourie was at the heart of it all winning three of those turnovers by himself.
Saturday’s win was the Stormers’ fifth in a row against their old foes in the URC.
Sources: @URCOfficial & @OptaJonny
The United Rugby Championship stat that says it all 👇#URC #Stormers #Bulls #JohnDobson #JakeWhite pic.twitter.com/7QAw19bPSb
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) February 20, 2023