The Stormers are bound for a trip up to the Northern parts of South Africa where they will meet the Bulls in a United Rugby Championship clash at Loftus.
It’s a quarrel that has deep roots in our Rugby heritage, and Saturday’s match will surely be another classic for the annals. There are important log points up for grabs, and the Bulls will be desperate to get their hands on them.
Stormers chasing Leinster, Bulls on the rise
The Stormers sit in no-man-land in second place on the log. They trail a still-unbeaten Leinster by 11 points and lead Ulster by seven. The Bulls are on Ulster’s tail, three points off the pace, while the Glasgow Warriors are one point behind the Pretoria franchise. The Bulls have played one game more than both sides.
Pretoria altitude won’t be a factor
The Bulls will go into the match, the fresher of the two sides, and with home-ground advantage. That will pose a genuine threat to John Dobson’s team. A factor that also comes into play when playing at Loftus is the high altitude.
However, Stormers loose forward, Junior Pokomela is of the opinion that playing at 1350 meters above sea level won’t pose as big of a threat as many expect.
“We train at such a high tempo, so the altitude doesn’t really matter,” said Junior Pokomela in response to a question posed by Gavin Rich at a Stormers media conference on Tuesday afternoon.
“Obviously, you saw in Durban – the humidity and the heat didn’t affect us. So, this week I can promise you that will not affect us as well.”
Pokomela will most likely feature in the Stormers starting lineup this weekend. He has made the most of his opportunities and has earned the trust of Dobson. Contributing more to the team is the big objective, with the position he’s playing irrelevant.
“All I do every week is learn the detail for all the positions,” said Pokomela.
“If I’m playing seven this week, I’ll be ready at seven. If I’m on the bench I’ll cover six and seven, and make sure I know every single detail.
“It doesn’t really matter what number I’m wearing on my back, as long as I can help the team”
Kick-off is at 17h05 on Saturday.
