The DHL Stormers beat the Vodacom Bulls 33-21 at the DHL Stadium on Saturday to set up a home Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final showdown with Irish side Connacht.
The DHL Stormers will take one step closer to possibly defending their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title next weekend after booking their second successive home semi-final in the competition, while the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks were knocked out in a bitter-sweet weekend for the South African sides.
Marcell Coetzee puts down his coffee and says it from his heart. “I’m gutted,” he says of not being able to join his Vodacom Bulls teammates in Cape Town on Saturday for their Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-final against the DHL Stormers. And then you see the fire in his eyes when he predicts that this particular edition of the famous South African Derby will be close to a Test match.
The Cell C Sharks take on Leinster in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-finals at Aviva Stadium on Saturday with the tournament heading towards its climax.
The DHL Stormers, Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls will have everything to play for on Saturday in a tough round of Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-finals – their biggest challenge of the season so far.
Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White is drawing inspiration from Schalk Burger Snr, Morné du Plessis and Ernie Els as his side prepares for their Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarterfinal against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town this weekend.
The DHL Stormers will host the Vodacom Bulls in Cape Town and the Cell C Sharks will travel to Dublin to face Leinster in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoffs in two weekends’ time following the confirmation of the eight quarter-finalists as the league phase of the competition came to a close on Saturday.
A massive final round of Vodacom United Rugby Championship pool matches awaits the South African teams this weekend, as the competition builds up to the playoffs early next month where the top teams will be chasing some silverware, as well as positions in the EPCR competitions next season.
Richard Kriel is looking forward to returning to South Africa for the upcoming Vodacom United Rugby Championship double-headers starting this weekend as a vastly more experienced player since joining Zebre Parma. There’s also the prospect of playing against his brother. And a trip to the Spur restaurant.
The DHL Stormers will be hunting a victory this weekend to remain in second place on the Vodacom United Rugby Championship log, while the other three South African franchises will be under immense pressure to register victories to remain in the race for playoff spots as the competition strikes the penultimate round of pool matches with an invasion of Irish and Italian teams.