URC, Round Eight - teams and predictions

SATURDAY PREVIEWS: “We are not going to go away.”

Within that candid comment is contained an unambiguous premonitory to the visitors.

The Stormers will host their arch rivals, the Bulls, in the #BIG North-South derby – a United Rugby Championship Round Eight face-off in Cape Town on Saturday.

The two South African sides come into this encounter with contrasting results from their Champions Cup ties last weekend.

The Stormers came from behind to beat title holders Stade Rochelais 21-20, thanks to a nerveless late touchline conversion from Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok.

In contrast, Jake White’s Bulls went down to a 28-29 away to Lyon Olympique, after leading 18-12 at the break.

Few pundits would argue the claim that the Bulls are the form team in South Africa.

However, at the same Cape Town stadium last week the Stormers showed the kind of doggedness that had coach John Dobson purring like a kitten.

“By nature, we are a resilient team,” Dobson said, adding: “We fight and you will see that tomorrow.

“That is the DNA of our team.

“I am confident with the team we are putting out.”

(The article continues below the John Dobson & Deon Fourie interviews …)

Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White said the newly laid Cape Town surface won’t be foreign top his team, as their home ground, Loftus Versfeld, also received a makeover in the off-season and now sports the same hybrid turn as what the Cape Town stadium has.

It will allow for a ‘contest’ in the scrums.

White said the ‘blueprint’ for winning the URC is to play a style where you score more ‘points’ – by implication tries – and do so against the best teams.

That puts the defence at the forefront.

“To stop the opposition from scoring, defensively’ will be the key,” the Bulls boss told @rugby365com.

“Then, the composure of not making mistakes at vital times – be that giving a penalty away or turning the ball over – is vital.

“Defensively you should shut down their space, while also ensuring you are more streetwise and composed with those big decisions.”

He added that he is comfortable with the depth and experience of his set-piece players to cope with these big games.

(Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White previews the URC Round Eight encounter with the Stormers...)

Stormers captain Deon Fourie spoke about the ‘challenge’ of focusing on a game of rugby when Cape Town is flooded by seasonal visitors and in the grip of the Christmas spirit.

“That is why we play this game [rugby], for big games like this,” he said of the South African seasonal record attendances.

This North-South derby is set to attract the second-biggest crowd in the URC this season.

By late Friday more than 37,000 tickets have been sold for the much anticipated Cape Town clash, amid an expectation of going past the 40,000 mark.

Only the Round Six meeting between Leinster and Munster has drawn a larger attendance so far this term, with 49,246 turning out in Dublin.

“It is always a big game against the Bulls and we know there will be an incredible atmosphere for this game,” Dobson said.

The Stormers coach added that the set pieces will be crucial in a game where both teams enjoy employing an expansive style.

“You can’t force transitions or the chaos game when you are under pressure,” the Stormers coach told @rugby365com.

“You need to manipulate those [situations] from set pieces.

“There have been queries about our line-outs and the scrum question [the absence of World Cup Springboks] has also come up.

“We have to create those situations for ourselves.

“It has to be on our terms, which is why the set pieces are so important.”

He added that defence is another key element for the Stormers, as that will allow them to stop the Bulls’ momentum.

“If one of the teams get on the front foot and get momentum, you get those chaos situations on your terms,” he told @rugby365com

* In the other Saturday game Zebre is hosting Benetton in an Italian derby in Parma.

Both teams head into this match after notable Challenge Cup victories over French opposition.

Zebre won 21-14 away to Oyonnax, with the boot of flyhalf Gerónimo Prisciantelli proving the difference between the sides, while Benetton defeated Perpignan 29-7 as Rhyno Smith touched down twice.

That saw South African fullback Smith become the Treviso team’s all-time leading try scorer in EPCR competitions.

“The match against Zebre will be special because we know well that derbies are always strange,” Benetton coach Marco Bortolami said.

“The Zebre will be fierce and we will have to prepare the match carefully to put in a top-level performance.”

The Saturday teams and predictions follow below …

Zebre Parma v Benetton
(Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Benetton by nine points

Teams

Zebre: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli (captain), 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Davide Ruggeri, 7 Giacomo Ferrari, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 David Sisi, 3 Juan Pitinari, 2 Marco Manfredi, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Iacopo Bianchi, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Giovanni Montemauri, 23 Luca Morisi.

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Paolo Odogwu, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Edoardo Iachizzi, 3 Giosué Zilocchi, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Mirco Spagnolo.
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Henry Time-Stowers, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Edoardo Padovani.

Referee: Filippo Russo (Italy)
Assistant referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Stormers v Bulls
(Cape Town Stadium – Kick-off: 19.00, 17.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Stormers by five points

Teams

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Keke Morabe, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Clayton Blommetjies.

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 David Kriel, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw (captain), 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Janko Swanepoel, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Simphiwe Matanzima, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Sebastian de Klerk.

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

@king365ed
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* Additional reporting: @URCOfficial