Jake White: Stormers favourites despite Bulls big guns coming back

Although the Bulls have recalled several first-choice players for Friday's URC derby with the Stormers in Cape Town, Jake White believes the home side will still be the favourites.

Although the Stormers will be without Springboks trio Evan Roos (number eight), Salmaan Roos (lock) and Herschel Jantjies (scrumhalf), the Bulls' director of rugby insisted that his opponents are still a strong outfit.

"I don't think it's a weaker Stormers team, nothing has changed. Our team is still young and in evolution, we're still where we were last year â- we're developing," White told the Citizen.

"I like to think we're playing better rugby than last year because of the added experience, but we are still a young team building together. We've not suddenly become a powerhouse senior team.

"If you look at the Stormers tight five, they are each a couple of years older than ours when you look man-for-man. And John Dobson has been coaching them for a long time.

"So I think they're favourites. But it's fantastic that the North/South derby has its aura back, the challenge is healthy and hopefully we do the rivalry justice."

Traditionally, the Bulls were renowned for employing a conservative game plan in which their forwards laid a superb platform while the Stormers were renowned for their attacking play in which their backs were prominent in winning games for them.

The situation has changed somewhat with the men from the Cape now having hardened forwards like Springbok trio Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Joseph Dweba, Deon Fourie and Marvin Orie in their ranks while excitement machines like Bok flyers Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Cornal Hendricks are regulars in the Bulls line-up.

White is hoping his attacking players will make an impact on Friday's encounter.

"I like to believe there will still be space for them," he said. "These are good players who have opened up holes in Test rugby.

"I'm very proud of the good attacking backs we have, Chris Rossouw has worked really hard with them and we've had three guys called up for national duty this year, so I guess it is a bit like an old Western Province backline.

"We'll need to be accurate when we have the ball and score some tries, because we're not going to win by just keeping them out of our 22.

"But we do also have to be good enough not to give them entries into our 22 because I don't see them going away from scrumming for penalties, kicking to the corner and then mauling for tries."