Overview
- SA Rugby confirmed short-term support for the Bulls from Springbok assistants Felix Jones and Jerry Flannery, Mobi-Unit coach Duane Vermeulen and head of athletic performance Andy Edwards.
- Stormers defence coach Norman Laker said the timing was unusual given an informal practice of avoiding national assistance in local derby weeks.
- The Stormers remain top of the URC and unbeaten with seven wins from seven, holding a game in hand over their nearest challengers.
- The Bulls arrive on a five-match losing run, having dismissed assistants Andries Bekker and Chris Rossouw, with Neil de Bruin brought in to work with head coach Johan Ackermann.
- Stormers face backline selection doubts as fitness calls on Damian Willemse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are pending, with Ruhan Nel sidelined and Jonathan Roche and Wandisile Simelane nursing hand fractures, while a sell-out is expected in Cape Town and the Sharks play the Lions in Durban.