Rugby fans couldn’t have asked for more drama at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
First, the game had to be delayed for 75 minutes due to heavy rain and lightning, and once the action got under way on a saturated pitch, the Bulls and Stormers went hell for leather in a United Rugby Championship classic.
The intensity was worthy of a Test match, although it became an error-ridden affair due to the slippery conditions, which caused a series of knocks-ons, wonky passes and kicks, and a real difficulty to put together any meaningful phases together with ball-in-hand.
In the end, the Stormers delivered the knockout blow with about 12 minutes left, and how sweet wasn’t the moment for former Bulls centre Wandisile Simelane to clinch a gritty 19-16 victory for the visitors, who had lost their last two matches against Jake White’s outfit.
Having left Pretoria following a frustrated period in the capital city – where he played mainly at wing and fullback instead of No 13 – Simelane has had to wait his turn to get a chance in Cape Town as well.
But after a number of injuries in the backline, the ex-Lions star has found his feet in the Stormers midfield, and played with great purpose on Saturday – no doubt wanting to prove a point to Bulls boss White.
And the golden moment came in the closing stages as flyhalf Jurie Matthee – who produced his finest performance for the visitors – launched another accurate up-and-under that wasn’t claimed by the Bulls.
Simelane hacked the loose ball ahead and won the race to dive over and put the Capetonians 17-16 ahead, and Matthee slotted the conversion to make it 19-16.
SIMELANE! 🤯
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) March 1, 2025
He scores against his previous employers to put the DHL @THESTORMERS back in the lead!#BULvSTO | @Vodacom #URC | #OriginRound pic.twitter.com/5kcO9y0qMo
The Bulls, try as they might, were unable to come up with the decisive play to regain the lead in the final 10 minutes, despite a number of opportunities.
The clincher for the Stormers came through powerful No 8 Evan Roos, who won a breakdown penalty in the dying minutes to ward off yet another Bulls onslaught in the 22.
It was just reward for John Dobson’s team, who were rank underdogs going into the fixture due to their poor form and 10th position on the URC log, compared to the Bulls in third.
Matthee and Bulls centre David Kriel exchanged seven penalties between them that saw the Stormers lead 12-9 at halftime, and despite a dominant home pack, they weren’t helped by a nightmare outing for flyhalf Willie le Roux.
The Springbok veteran made a number of mistakes, highlighted by a yellow card for a cynical ruck infringement.
The Bulls, though, didn’t really take advantage of their powerful scrum, where Wilco Louw was unlucky not to earn even more penalties from referee Griffin Colby as he won his battle against Ali Vermaak.
The Bulls lineout went awry, and they also lost Springbok wing Canan Moodie to a neck injury in the seventh minute and flank Marco van Staden just before halftime with a leg injury.
Stormers flank Deon Fourie and the rest of the forwards made it a scrappy day at the breakdowns, which halted the Bulls’ momentum.
The wasted scoring opportunities came back to bite the Bulls in the second half. They did manage a try when replacement lock Ruan Vermaak barged over following a Nizaam Carr charge off a five-metre tap penalty.
TRY! The @Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby cross the line and take the lead in a slippery battle at Loftus 👀#BULvSTO | @Vodacom #URC | #OriginRound pic.twitter.com/9WS12A6cKY
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) March 1, 2025
Carr was an inspirational figure against his former team, producing some silky touches and putting in a number of big hits.
But then the Stormers came up with the winning moment when Simelane dotted down, and they held on for a memorable triumph in the Pretoria rain.
Massive shift from @evanroos4 and a crucial steal at the death 👏
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) March 1, 2025
He's your @Vodacom #MOTM 🏅#BULvSTO | @Vodacom #URC | #OriginRound pic.twitter.com/F4uXYsUx8Q
Points-Scorers
Bulls 16 – Try: Ruan Vermaak. Conversion: David Kriel (1). Penalties: Kriel (3).
Stormers 19 – Try: Wandisile Simelane. Conversion: Jurie Matthee (1). Penalties: Matthee (4).