SportsClub takes a look at the seven most essential and mouth-watering fixtures to keep an eye out for during the month of April.
After two rounds of intense Vodacom United Rugby Championship Derby action, Jean de Villiers says it still gives him goosebumps to see how local rugby fans responded to the best South African players throwing everything at each other.
The Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls showed their mettle in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday with important home victories over their visitors from the coach, which bolstered their playoff hopes with seven league rounds remaining.
The North-South Derby between the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers demands the best of every South African rugby player privileged to compete in it. For the DHL Stormers’ Evan Roos, this match asks and answers every question they as players ask themselves.
All four South African teams will be feeling the pressure when they take the field on Saturday in the second Vodacom United Rugby Championship Origin Round as the competition for places in the quarter-final heats up with eight pool rounds remaining – while the SA Shield can be decided in Pretoria.
Springbok legend Jean de Villiers believes it’s no coincidence that the rise in Benetton Rugby’s performances in this year’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship should lead to Italy almost shocking France in the Guinness Six Nations this past weekend.
As a sold-out Loftus Versfeld prepares for another giant North-South Derby between the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday, it’s also taken Deon Fourie back to his high school rugby days and memories of watching this Derby from the stands.