Bulls wing Canan Moodie fools around at training in front of a football goal ahead of their URC derby against the Stormers.
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More than 30 000 supporters are expected to fill the stands at Loftus Versfeld for the final round-robin United Rugby Championship (URC) North-South derby between the Bulls and the Stormers tomorrow.
The majority will, of course, be in light blue to spur on the home side as they go in search of a third victory in a row over a local opponent. However, the fans in Stormers jerseys will be hoping their team can turn their season around with an upset victory.
Loftus has already hosted two spectacular clashes against the Lions and Sharks, respectively. If those previous encounters indicate what to expect on Saturday afternoon (2pm kick-off), another humdinger is anticipated.
Since the Bulls snapped out of their early-season slump, they have rediscovered their spark under head coach Johan Ackermann. They will look for another inspiring performance to remain in the Top 8 on the URC log. What will help their cause - and perhaps draw even more supporters to the stands - is that most of their Springboks will be in action.
The Stormers will be banking on a big performance from their flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
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The duel between the home side’s Handré Pollard and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, the scrum battle between Wilco Louw and the Stormers’ Ntuthuko Mchunu, and captain Marcell Coetzee going up against Deon Fourie should be worth the price of admission alone.
Of course, the Cape side will arrive at Fort Loftus looking to make it two from two against their arch-rivals. They won at DHL Stadium in January, and with key players returning, the Stormers will fancy their chances of turning their campaign around.
Despite not being in good form, the former URC champions know how to lift themselves when facing the Bulls, and nothing less than an electric atmosphere is expected in Pretoria this afternoon.
Both teams will be desperate for victory: the Bulls to avoid back-to-back losses against their fiercest rivals, and the Stormers to halt their slump and return to winning ways.