Bully beef: Dobson reg for Loftus derby clash as White isn’t bang to face ‘bogey team’ Stormers
Jake White insists the Stormers aren’t his “bogey team” as rival John Dobson is already getting fired up for woelige rematch next week.
The Stormers and Bulls this past Saturday made it two out of two against the Sharks and Lions respectively, heading into a week’s pause in the United Rugby Championship.
A strong second half set up White’s manne for a 25-10 win at Ellis Park in Round 10 of the URC, before the Stormers held on for a 25-21 victory in Durban.
Following the weekend’s action, the Bulls climbed to third in the standings with 35 points while the Sitormers are five punte behind in sixth.
And White is loving life at the top, although he still doesn’t smaak being reminded that his span is 7-0 in the URC to Dobson’s ouens, and lost 26-20 innie Kaap in December.
On the losing streak to the Stormers, Jake says: “It’s not my bogey team, guys.
“I read previously that the Sharks have also struggled to beat the Stormers recently, but all I read is that the Bulls can’t beat the Stormers.
Hendre Stassen says that he has been inspired by the passion shown by his teammates at the DHL Stormers this season. #iamastormer #dhldelivers https://t.co/PkFckmbOL5
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) February 21, 2024
“But I’m enjoying the fact that we’re near the top of the log, I enjoy the fact that we’re dominating, and I enjoy the fact that when we don’t play well we score four tries. We have our destiny in our own hands.
“It’s pressure because people want us to do well or not to do well because other teams are trying to catch us [but] there’s a lot of things to be positive about.”
Dobbo, meanwhile, believes it was vital to keep nipping at the Bulls’ heels ahead of next week’s big derby, where he will have Bok stars Deon Fourie, Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse back in the mix.
He adds: “If we didn’t get a win [against the Sharks] it would probably have been us in terms of trying to host anything later on in the tournament.
20 000 tickets are already out of the market for the North/South Derby 💪
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) February 21, 2024
We’re aiming for a FULL HOUSE at Loftus on March 2nd 🏆
🎟️ Get Your Tickets Here: https://t.co/1SiDxHNUK5#BackTheBulls @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/Cq4XG0WfLh
“It was important for us to stay in touch with the Bulls, so it tees up an epic game [at Loftus Versfeld]. There’ll be a lot of passion, a great occasion at a presumably full Loftus.”
devin.hermanus@inl.co.za