Back in late February the match was close until halftime but the Stormers, courtesy of an outstanding forward effort, took control in the second half and won going away. That set the tone for the first few months of the competition, with the Stormers bossing Africa Conference 1 in Vodacom Super Rugby for most of the way.
But while the Bulls came unstuck on their recent tour of Australia, they did make noticeable improvements before that, and Fleck has made his team aware of that as they head to a venue that has been relatively kind to them in recent years in comparison to what was the case in the middle stages of last decade.
“The Bulls have certainly improved a lot since they played us at Newlands,” said Fleck.
“They are trying different things and trying play a different brand of rugby, and a lot of credit must go to their coach Nollis Marais for what he is trying to do and for the way he has committed himself to sticking with the new approach even when the pressure for results has started to become quite acute.”
The Bulls struggled to get their hands on the ball in the last two matches of their overseas tour so it wouldn’t have been evident then, but before they left South Africa and in their opening tour game in Perth, where they beat the Western Force with some degree of comfort, the Bulls did show a pleasing willingness to run the ball.
And they started to attain success with that approach too. They have a strong and talented midfield in the form of Jan Serfontein and Jesse Kriel, a duo who could easily be transferred straight into the Springbok team for the series against the Lions without too much complaint from the critics. And they have pace to burn out wide.
