Tough call this one. Bulls have home advantage but the sides seem pretty evenly matched. I cant say I can make a call on this one, not even if pushed. It could go either way. Both sides have made conservative selections and I feel both sell themselves short a little.
Etzebeth is a massive loss to the Stormers, especially considering who has replaced him. Man for man its a tough call.
Kirchner vs Taute - new boy vs the old. I'd give the edge to Taute, but saying that Kirchner always delivers.
Wings - Habana and Aplon vs Mapoe and Basson. Again its pretty even here. Habana the old master and Mapoe the player on the up. Aplon and Basson are two little guys on the slip. I would not have selected either. The Stormers should have gone with v/d Heever and the Bulls could have played Frans Venter here.
Centres - de Allende and Jean vs Olivier and JJ. Not much in this. Two conservative selections here in Jean and Olivier - poor calls in my opinion, in particular Olivier over Serfontein. Jean struggled to impress at 12 last year and playing him at 13 is madness - Howard or JP du Plessis would have been far more productive options. Looking forward to seeing de Allande in action - a kid on the up. JJ is a quality attacker and should work Jean over in this department. Olivier and Jean wont let their sides down, but dont expect any spark from the old men - its conservative, disappointing selections here.
Jantjies vs Morne.......here we have creativity over the boring. No contest, Jantjies will walk this contest.
Hougaard vs Groom........Groom is quality youngster on the up, but will be no match for Hougaard who will be keen to silence all those ignorant detractors. Hougaard will prove this S15 that he is our only answer at 9 and should never have been questioned in the first place.
Props - Kitshoff and Cilliers vs Mellett and W.Kruger........not much in this one. Two poor selections in Cilliers and Kruger. I dont see what people see in Cilliers, he looks undercooked physically and Malherebe is a far better option. Kruger is a complete liability and was sorely exposed at test level. Young Frik Kirtsen is a far better option and should have been selected ahead of Kruger.
Chiliboy vs Fourie - even call here, both good players
Locks - de Kock Steenkamp and Bekker vs Flip and J.Kruger. The edge goes to Bulls thanks to the poor selection of Steenkamp at 4. Etzebeth is a huge loss - had Coetzee any savvy he would have invested in Quinn Roux last year instead of ignoring him and forcing him to look for game time in Ireland. Given Roux is out of the equation, Elstadt should have been moved back to lock in Eben's absence. Bekker and Flip are up there with the best. Jeandre Kruger was out of his depth at test level, was physically not up to the task. He is comfortable at S15 level.
Loosies - Kolisi, Elstadt, Vermeulen vs Stegman, D.Potgieter and Spies. The Stormers loosies have Bok trio written all over them and will edge this contest. The Bulls trio is good and it will be interesting to see how Spies goes this year as he lacked mongrel and made little impression last year. Its madness that the Bulls have left the impressive Arno Botha on the bench.
Too close to call
