The DHL Stormers have taken one step closer to defending their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title this weekend after booking their second successive home semi-final in the competition.
The DHL Stormers will host Connacht in the first semi-final on Saturday, 13 May, at 16h00 at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, while Leinster will go up against Munster in the other encounter at 18h30 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
These fixtures were confirmed after the DHL Stormers defeated the Vodacom Bulls 33-21 in Cape Town, Leinster outplayed the Cell C Sharks 35-5 in Dublin, Connacht surprised Ulster 15-10 in Belfast and Munster toppled the Glasgow Warriors 14-5 in Glasgow in the four quarter-finals.
Now that was fun. Thanks to the @BlueBullsRugby and every one of you that turned up at DHL Stadium for making our @Vodacom #URC quarterfinal what it was. #STOvBUL #iamastormer #dhldelivers #UniteWeRise pic.twitter.com/Pql3NtMfkZ
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) May 7, 2023
The semi-final winners will meet in the Grand Final on Saturday, May 27 at the venue of the highest-ranked of the two teams.
Both the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls teams went into the titanic North-South derby with added motivation to perform.
Connacht’s 15-10 victory in Belfast on Friday night eliminated Ulster from the tournament, and thereby guaranteed the winner of the playoff in Cape Town a home semi-final.
The Stormers dominated the first half, and then held their nerve in the second to complete a convincing victory in front of a record crowd of 44,109.
The result marked the Cape franchise’s sixth-consecutive win in the Vodacom URC against their rivals from Pretoria.
Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok was at the heart of the hosts’ excellent kicking performance.
The DHL Stormers pinned the Vodacom Bulls in their own territory for much of the first half as they managed to build up a 17-7 halftime lead.
The Vodacom Bulls fought back strongly with late tries by Embrose Papier and Bismarck du Plessis, but with Libbok adding two further penalty goals for the home side, their efforts fell short.
Our skipper @StevenKitshoff on what was an incredible day out at DHL Stadium. We can’t wait to do it all again in the semifinal. #iamastormer #UnitedWeRise #dhldelivers @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/mLxO85Jjjo
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) May 7, 2023
Scorers:
DHL Stormers 33 (17) – Tries: Hacjivah Dayimani, Leolin Zas, Angelo Davids. Conversions: Manie Libbok (3). Penalty goals: Libbok (4).
Vodacom Bulls 21 (7) – Tries: Cyle Brink, Embrose Papier, Bismarck du Plessis. Conversions: Johan Goosen, Chris Smith (2).
