Bok coach merrily swings into URC Final banter: The Stormers players were smiling

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber couldn't help but get into the swing of the United Rugby Championship final banter, saying the Stormers players were all smiles when they arrived in camp. 

The Stormers flushed away 23 years of curses and pain when they beat the Bulls 18-13 to claim the URC title.

In joining the Springbok camp in Pretoria on Monday, Nienaber couldn't help but notice the grins on the faces of the Stormers' players.

Nienaber was the Stormers' defence coach when they lost to the Bulls 25-17 in the 2010 Super 14 final at the Orlando Stadium.

"They've been with us now and the Stormers guys came into the camp with smiles on their faces," Nienaber said.

"The Bulls guys were probably disappointed, which is to be expected since the final was decided by such a close margin."

Last week was a maelstrom of finals, stretching from the Gallagher Premiership between the Leicester Tigers and Saracens at Twickenham to Auckland, where the Crusaders beat the Blues.

One of the take-aways from those games for Nienaber was the physical element and how they gave off a Test match intensity without the matches being at that level.

"The common denominator in all of those finals was physical intensity. There was a physical intensity in all three of those matches," Nienaber said.

"There also was a massive tactical battle for territory and put the other team under pressure. That was consistent in all those games.

"That's why we say it's nice that our players can get to play in big games like that one because finals rugby is probably the closest thing to Test rugby.

"There's still a bit of a gap between finals rugby and Test rugby, but there's still a lot at stake in both forms of rugby."