Ken Borland

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee always wants to win trophies, which is why even in his delight after beating Leinster for the first time at the weekend, he stressed that his team had still not completed their job.

Coetzee, who suffered playoff pain at the hands of Leinster during his five years with Ulster, made it clear that there was one remaining task for his team: To now beat the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship final in Cape Town on Saturday.

“My emotions are running high, four or five times I have come up short against Leinster,” Coetzee said after their epic semi-final win in Dublin. “So it’s a proud moment and definitely a highlight of my career.

“But we want to lift the trophy in any competition we play in. So we still have one more job to do. Our job is not done yet, there is still one game to go and we will go 100% in the final.”

The loose forward star, undoubtedly one of the best players in the URC this season, also knows that prowess in the scrums and lineouts is always crucial in semi-finals and finals. Having blunted the might of Leinster, the Stormers pack will now present another formidable challenge.

“If you’re going to have a chance of winning in playoffs then your set-piece has to function,” Coetzee said. “Credit to our forwards coach Russell Winter and the other coaches because we had done our homework.

“Leinster are all international stars and we said we have to play at that level, we had to win physically. Mentally we were also switched on.

“Our lineout was exceptional and we managed to adapt at the scrums. The pack showed their composure and we were able to get in the right positions, which is what we’ll need again,” Coetzee said.

Like the best choirmaster, Bulls coach Jake White has his charges singing in unison with perfect timing and blending of talents, and they undoubtedly played their best game of the season in the semi-final against Leinster.

“It was all about the plan, executing that correctly, getting in their faces, making sure our kicking game was good and getting our chase-line going,” Coetzee said.

The Bulls will no doubt bring the same strategy to Cape Town, as Stormers coach John Dobson mints a new generation of heroes to play in the blue-and-white.

The Stormers’ decision-making under the pressure the Bulls will exert on them on the gain-line is going to be the key factor in the final.

Coach Jake White is delighted that most people seem to consider the Bulls the favourites for their United Rugby Championship match against the Sharks on Saturday, despite the KwaZulu-Natalians beating them twice this season, and said “my analogy to the players was that they are like a golfer who has a chance to win in the final round”.

The Bulls get to host the South African derby quarterfinal because they finished fourth on the final URC log, one place above the Sharks, and White really wants his players to feel at home in the pressure of a knockout game.

“I’m very proud we’re the favourites,” White said. “We’ve finished ahead of them on the log even though we lost to them twice and they have eight current Springboks and we have zero incumbents. It’s a feather in our cap for all our coaches and players.

“We’re really excited, there’s a buzz around Loftus like the old days. We will stick to what has been working for us and won’t be influenced by other people. My players have been given full carte blanche to express themselves.

“They’re like a runner coming down the last stretch now. I gave them a golf analogy and told them the pressure to make the cut on a Friday is very different to playing in the final round when you have a chance to win.

“I want them to enjoy it and give it a full go, and hopefully we can do our supporters proud. We’ve got a couple of new things we will bring to the Sharks and it will be interesting to see if it works …,” White smiled.

The Bulls lost 29-22 to the Sharks in their last meeting in Pretoria, in February, but much went wrong that day which White is confident won’t happen again.

“We made a couple of mistakes then – we had to play with 14 men, a kick-off bounced straight into Makazole Mapimpi’s hands and Lukhanyo Am scored a long-range intercept try.

“I’m fully confident going into this match and we have played well in knockout games,” White said.

The only thing White seemed to be unhappy about on Friday was an injury list that curls his toes. To the long-term blows that have ruled out Lionel Mapoe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johan Goosen, Jacques du Plessis and Jacques van Rooyen can now be added  the snapped hamstring suffered by bruising loose forward Cyle Brink.

Arno Botha is a fine replacement in the starting line-up and exciting youngster Reinhardt Ludwig will be on the bench.

Bulls: Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Cornal Hendricks, Harold Vorster, Madosh Tambwe, Chris Smith, Zak Burger; Elrigh Louw, Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements – Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Lizo Gqoboka, Robert Hunt, Janko Swanepoel, Reinhardt Ludwig; Embrose Papier, Morne Steyn, Stedman Gans.

There’s a lot to think about for the young players at Loftus Versfeld these days: Trying to win the United Rugby Championship and the Currie Cup at the same time, and then next year having the European Champions Cup as another add-on to their plate.

And for an exciting prospect like loose forward Muller Uys, who also played club rugby for Tuks last weekend, there is the added pressure of trying to nail down a place in the Bulls URC squad.

The 23-year-old Uys will no doubt pack down at the back of the scrum for the Bulls on Friday night in their Currie Cup match against the Pumas, but with Cyle Brink injuring his knee against the Ospreys last weekend, there is likely to be a place in the match-day 23 for the following weekend’s quarterfinal against the Sharks.

Uys credits the set-up at Loftus for providing both clarity and motivation for all their players.

“When I get the chance, it’s my responsibility to show I am good enough to play URC,” Uys said on Tuesday. “I need to take ownership and show what I’m worth. There’s a clear plan and the players understand.

“In terms of training with the two squads, they make it easy for us to go from Currie Cup to URC, to slot into either side. The way we prepare, it’s 100% about the long-term and that will help a lot for next year.

“My career took a bit of a different turn with injury, but I must just take it day-by-day and keep learning. I must not think I’m too old or too good to learn. In a way I’ve started afresh.

“I played club rugby for Tuks last week, it was a nice way to get game-time, keep the skills sharp. It’s an opportunity to grow and learn because maybe there are things you haven’t seen there,” Uys said.

The Bulls Currie Cup side showed their ability when they totally dominated a URC-strength Lions team in their first half of their previous Currie Cup game, before sadly going off the boil in the second half. But the 43-37 win has nevertheless given them a timely confidence boost going into the last couple of rounds.

“We’ll carry a lot of confidence from that game because the Lions had a quality side and we manned up and really went well in the first half. There’s a lot of responsibility now for us to back up that performance,” Uys said.

“We matched up physically and did quite well against the Lions, we just had to manage the game better in the final 40 minutes, both with the ball and without ball-in-hand. The Pumas will not be much different to be honest,” assistant coach Hayden Groepes said.

Welsh rugby may be painting themselves as the paupers of the United Rugby Championship, but the Scarlets pushed the Stormers all the way in their match in Llanelli on Saturday night, the visitors scoring a last-minute try to win 26-21.

Winning the match at the death meant the Stormers have won the South African Shield and will have a home quarterfinal.

A poor start by the Stormers saw them trailing 10-0 inside seven minutes as Scarlets flyhalf Sam Costelow kicked a penalty and the home side then fashioned a superb try. Scrumhalf Gareth Davies’ lovely little chip over the defensive line was taken by centre Jonathan Davies, who then passed inside for midfield partner Johnny Williams to score.

The Stormers did reply in the 14^th minute with a fine try, eighthman Evan Roos storming off a scrum and centre Damian Willemse making further ground before the visitors switched to the left. Flank Hacjivah Dayimani put in a great run out wide and then wing Leolin Zas just had way too elusive feet for the last defender.

But Scarlets still led 16-7 as the first half was coming to a close. The Stormers, for all their razzle-dazzle at the back, dominant scrum and Roos’s bossing of the gain-line, had little to show for it.

But the impressive Roos once again put them on the front foot in the 38^th minute, and after the Stormers had bashed away on the line for quite some time, the Springbok hopeful then got the ball again and crossed over with ease for the try.

It meant the Stormers only trailed 16-14 at the break and they started the second half brilliantly by taking the lead for the first time in the 42^nd minute. Slick hands by flyhalf Manie Libbok and Willemse saw outside centre Ruhan Nel take advantage of a dreadful defensive miscalculation by Scarlets, roaring through a big gap and powering over the tryline.

Leading 21-16, it all seemed set for the Stormers, chasing a second-place finish on the log, to pull away.

But instead they delivered a poor second half.

Some poor decision-making loosened their grip on the game and then flank Deon Fourie received a controversial yellow card in the 59^th minute, for a high tackle. He was unfortunate because contact was initially with the chest/shoulder region but he then slid up to hit the chin, as prop Frans Malherbe completed the tackle.

Scarlets piled on the pressure in the final quarter, but determined defence by the Stormers managed to keep them out while they were reduced to 14 men. But another ruck penalty awarded to the home side put Scarlets back on attack and, after concerted pressure on the line, they went wide for wing Ryan Conbeer to score and level the scores. Liam Williams was not able to convert from near to the touchline, though, meaning Ospreys won the Welsh Shield and qualified for the European Champions Cup.

The Stormers rallied though and spent the closing minutes in the Scarlets 22. In the final minute, fullback Warrick Gelant joined the line and threw a long pass out wide to Nel, who is such a powerful runner and he cut inside, through Liam Williams’ tackle, to score the matchwinning try.

The bonus point win means mission accomplished for the Stormers, but coach John Dobson has much to mull.

Scorers

Scarlets – Tries: Johnny Williams, Liam Williams. Conversion: Sam Costelow. Penalties: Costelow (3).

Stormers – Tries: Leolin Zas, Evan Roos, Ruhan Nel (2). Conversions: Manie Libbok (3).