Vodacom Bulls Narrowly Defeat DHL Stormers In North-South Derby
Vodacom Bulls Narrowly Defeat DHL Stormers In North-South Derby
The Vodacom Bulls came away with a win in a back-and-forth battle against the DHL Stormers in the rescheduled URC Round 1 North-South Derby matchup.
The Vodacom Bulls were able to defend against the DHL Stormers early on Feb. 8, despite the Stormers scoring five tries to the Bulls four.
Kicking proved to be the Stormers’ downfall in the rescheduled Round 1 United Rugby Championship match, with Jurie Matthee scoring conversions on just two of five tries.
The Bulls narrowly escaped with the win, 33-32.
The Bulls' David Kriel was able to secure two conversions of his own, giving the Bulls an edge, coupled with three additional penalty kicks.
- Subscribe To FloRugby To Watch Champions Cup In 2024-25
- Who's The Best Rugby Team In The World? Here Are The Top 50 Rugby Clubs
- 100 Best Rugby Players In The World: Here's The Full List
To make matters worse, Clayton Blommetjies had ran the clock down after a late-game try by the Stormers, and proceeded to miss the conversion wide. The conversion would have given the Stormers a one-point lead and likely the win.
Check below for a full recap of the eventful matchup between the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers.
Bulls And Stormers Trade Blows Early
The Vodacom Bulls came out swinging, scoring a try within the first two minutes of the match.
In the next 10 minutes, a missed conversion, followed by a Stormers try and conversion, resulted in the Bulls losing the lead.
A try, conversion and penalty later, the Bulls had regained the lead, making it a 15-10 match at the 32 minute mark.
Of course, the Stormers were not discouraged, answering with a try and conversion before the half.
The Bulls got the last laugh, though, scoring on a penalty right at halftime. Bulls lead 18-17.
Missed Conversion Gives Bulls The Win In Second Half Vs. Stormers
The Bulls once again came out in force, scoring a try in the opening of the second half, this time with a conversion.
The Stormers eventually broke the plane with back-to-back tries within two minutes, again shifting the lead to favor the Stormers.
A penalty and try later, the lead once again is back to the Bulls, 33-27, heading into the final few minutes of the match.
But the Stormers will have one last hoorah, scoring what seems like a try that could win the game.
With the clock winding down and about to expire, Clayton Blommetjies puts up the conversion to take the win, but misses wide!
The Bulls narrowly escaped with the win, 33-32.
DHL Stormers Vs. Vodacom Bulls Scoring Summary
DHL Stormers
- Tries: Malherbe(10'), Moerat(35'), Roos(55'), Gelant(57'), Dixon(78')
- Conversions: Matthee(11', 36')
- Penalties: Matthee(31')
Vodacom Bulls
- Tries: Wiese(1'), Wessels(18'), Vorster(41'), Vermaak(70')
- Conversions: Kriel(19', 42')
- Penalties: Kriel(29', 40', 61')
Stormers Lineup
- Sti Sithole
- Joseph Dweba
- Frans Malherbe
- Salmaan Moerat
- Ruben van Heerden
- Deon Fourie
- Ben-Jason Dixon
- Evan Roos
- Stefan Ungerer
- Jurie Matthee
- Leolin Zas
- Daniel du Plessis
- Wandisile Simelane
- Ben Loader
- Warrick Gelant
Substitutes 16. Andre-Hugo Venter, 17. Brok Harris, 18. Sazi Sandi, 19. Gary Porter, 20. Marcel Theunissen, 21. Herschel Jantjies, 22. Jonathan Roche, 23. Clayton Blommetjies
Bulls Lineup
- Jan-Hendrik Wessels
- Johan Grobbelaar
- Wilco Louw
- Cobus Wiese
- JF van Heerden
- Marcell Coetzee
- Reinhardt Ludwig
- Cameron Hanekom
- Embrose Papier
- Willie Le Roux
- Sergeal Petersen
- Harold Vorster
- David Kriel
- Canan Moodie
- Devon Williams
Substitutes 16. Akker van der Merwe, 17. Gerhard Steenekamp, 18. Francois Klopper, 19. Ruan Vermaak, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Zak Burger, 22. Boeta Chamberlain, 23. Sebastian de Klerk
URC Table
- Leinster - W: 10, L: 0, D: 0, PD: 173, B: 2, Pts: 48
- Glasgow Warriors - W: 7, L: 3, D: 0, PD: 105, B: 3, Pts: 37
- Bulls - W: 7, L: 2, D: 0, PD: 68, B: 7, Pts: 35
- Sharks - W: 6, L: 3, D: 0, PD: 15, B: 5, Pts: 29
- Cardiff Rugby - W: 5, L: 4, D: 1, PD: -35, B: 7, Pts: 29
- Scarlets - W: 5, L: 4, D: 1, PD: 39, B: 5, Pts: 27
- Munster - W: 5, L: 5, D: 0, PD: -22, B: 6, Pts: 26
- Edinburgh - W: 4, L: 6, D: 0, PD: -6, B: 8, Pts: 24
- Ulster - W: 4, L: 6, D: 0, PD: -12, B: 7, Pts: 23
- Stormers - W: 4, L: 6, D: 0, PD: -17, B: 7, Pts: 23
- Benetton - W: 4, L: 5, D: 1, PD: -73, B: 5, Pts: 23
- Ospreys - W: 4, L: 5, D: 1, PD: 2, B: 4, Pts: 22
- Lions - W: 4, L: 4, D: 0, PD: -7, B: 3, Pts: 19
- Connacht - W: 3, L: 7, D: 0, PD: -32, B: 7, Pts: 19
- Zebre - W: 3, L: 7, D: 0, PD: -87, B: 4, Pts: 16
- Dragons - W: 1, L: 9, D: 0, PD: -113, B: 4, Pts: 8
When Does The 2024-2025 Investec Champions Cup Begin? When Is The Champions Cup Final?
The Investec Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup begin Dec. 6, and the four-round pool-play action ends Jan. 19, 2025. The Round of 16 starts on April 4, while the quarterfinals are April 11-13. The semifinals are May 2-4.
The EPCR Championships weekend is in Cardiff, Wales at Principality Stadium. There are championship games on May 23 (EPCR Challenge Cup) and May 24 (Investec Champions Cup).
Investec Champions Cup Weekends
- Round 1 – 6/7/8 December 2024
- Round 2 – 13/14/15 December 2024
- Round 3 – 10/11/12 January 2025
- Round 4 – 17/18/19 January 2025
- Round of 16 – 4/5/6 April 2025
- Quarter-finals – 11/12/13 April 2025
- Semi-finals – 2/3/4 May 2025
- 2025 Investec Champions Cup final – Saturday, May 24, Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Watch Investec Champions Cup Round Four Recap
How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby
FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.