The Stormers will visit the Lions in a United Rugby Championship (URC) clash at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon. There is much at stake, with the season past midway and both teams fighting for Champions Cup qualification.
The Stormers are 12th in the United Rugby Championship (URC) standings with 21 points from nine games. Meanwhile, the Lions are 13th with 19 points from eight games. Eighth-placed Edinburgh have 24 points from 10 games.
Both Teams Looking To Bounce Back From URC Bulls Losses
In their last game on 25 January, the Lions lost a Gauteng derby 35-22 to the Bulls at Ellis Park. The visitors started well, with Boeta Chamberlain’s early penalty and a David Kriel try putting them ahead. However, the Lions fought back, with Sam Francis’ penalties and Henco van Wyk’s try giving them an 11-10 half-time lead.
The second half saw both teams exchange penalties before Cobus Wiese powered over for the Bulls, putting them ahead. The Lions responded with Etienne Oosthuizen’s try, but Francis missed the conversion. The Bulls then took control, with Marcell Coetzee and Akker van der Merwe scoring late tries to seal the bonus point win.
Despite the scoreline, the Lions put up a strong fight, but the Bulls’ late surge proved decisive. They also beat the Stormers 33-32 in Cape Town in the Stormers’ last game over the past weekend.
Stormers fell short in a thrilling 33-32 defeat to the Vodacom Bulls at DHL Stadium, despite scoring five tries. The match was a tense back-and-forth battle, with the lead changing hands multiple times.
The Bulls struck first through Cobus Wiese, but the Stormers responded as Frans Malherbe and Salmaan Moerat crossed the line, with Jurie Matthee adding points from the boot. The Bulls led 18-17 at half-time after Jan-Hendrik Wessels’ try and David Kriel’s penalties.
Harold Vorster extended the visitors’ lead early in the second half, but yellow-card trouble for the Bulls allowed the Stormers to hit back through Evan Roos and Warrick Gelant. Kriel’s penalty put the Bulls ahead again before a late try from Ben-Jason Dixon gave the Stormers a chance to win it. However, the conversion went wide, handing the Bulls a dramatic victory in this fiercely contested South African derby.
Easybet Odds
The Stormers (2.70) are underdogs as they visit the Lions. Easybet odds place the Lions (1.50) as favourites with a draw (20.00) as another option. Playing away in Johannesburg can be a difficult task due to the altitude relative to Cape Town and this will be a tricky task for the Stormers, but they have a capable squad, coached by John Dobson, who has led them to the URC title before.
