The Bulls and Stormers set up a dream South African Super 14 final to take place at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday

Both the Bulls and Stormers based their semi-final victories with their defence. The Bulls exhibited a more balanced approach between attack and defence during their 39-24 victory over the Crusaders, whilst the Stormers defended like Trojans for 80 minutes in suffocating the Waratahs during their 25-6 victory at Newlands.

The Bulls finally started strongly in a match, and their intensity and execution were brilliant in the opening stanza. Once a handy lead was built they possibly became a bit more conservative, and the Crusaders had the majority of the ball and field position.

Unlike their encounter 2 weeks prior, the Crusaders could find no way through the Bulls defence. The Bulls defence was much better in midfield, with Jaco Pretorius and Wynand Olivier ensuring their channels were well covered. This ensured the Crusaders could not gain any momentum, and wave after wave of red and black attack was met by a blue wall.

Referee Stu Dickinson was prehaps the only method by which the Crusaders were rewarded for their efforts.

The Stormers had a similar strategy in their match against the Waratahs. Their defence strangled the Waratahs and meant the Australian side could never gain any momentum and mount any serious pressure. This resulted in the Waratahs constantly transgressing, especially at the breakdown which resulted in possession and kickable opportunities that the Stormers could use to keep their scoreboard ticking over.

Both South African sides produced performances similar to the successful pattern that the Boks have employed over the last 2-3 years of strong defence, and clinical counterattacking. Even with the new law interpretations, it has been interesting to see the pattern employed by both sides, but especially the Bulls, change as the season has progressed to a more defensive one as the referees change the way they blow the game too.

It makes for a mouth watering clash, and as this weekend showed, both sides like to build a lead and then rely on defence and penalties to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Whilst the Stormers have shown at times how brilliant they can be with ball in hand, and they have scored some great tries, generally it has come when playing New Zealand opposition who present more opportunities on the counterattack.

For this reason I feel the Bulls have the edge. They have a greater ability to score tries (the Stormers only finished 9th in terms of tries scored, whilst the Bulls were joint equal) which will allow them to score points. The Stormers are great defensively, but may struggle to really test the Bulls defence.

The Bulls are also the more adaptable side and if either side finds itself falling behind on the scoreboard, the greater composure and ability to change tactics surely must rest with the Bulls. They’ve got players who have consistently won games with their brilliance such as Pierre Spies, Victor Matfield, Fourie du Preez and Morne Steyn.

Whilst the Stormers have some great players, if they fall behind they may struggle to come back and change their tactics if they need to score multiple times to get back into the game.

There are 2 other factors that should swing it in the Bulls favour too.
1. The home ground advantage and altitude
2. The Bulls are probably fresher after their rest a week ago. The Stormers had their bye quite some time ago, and have had some harder games (mentally as well as physically) which take their toll at this stage of the season.

I am sure there will be massive buildup and hype this week leading up to what is shaping up as the biggest game in South Africa for 2010!