North/South derby: Loftus ticket sales at 30 000 for Bulls v Stormers showdown

Saturday's United Rugby Championship North/South derby between the Bulls and the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld is shaping up to be a club banger if the number of tickets sold is taken into consideration.

The Bulls announced on their X (formerly Twitter) feed that 30 000 tickets had already been sold for the bumper clash at the 52 000-seater ground at 416 Kirkness Street in Sunnyside, which will see the third-placed Bulls looking to get their first ever URC win against the sixth-placed Stormers.

The Bulls' URC showing against the Stormers - the latter lead the head-to-head 5-0 in their previous five meetings - has been the subject of ridicule, with the Stormers' narrow 30-26 away and 19-17 home wins in the 2021/22 season not really being taken into consideration, especially in light of the Bulls' Super Rugby, Rainbow Cup and Currie Cup dominance.

?? 30 000 tickets SOLD ?? Let’s #FillUpLoftus this Saturday ???? Vodacom Bulls v DHL Stormers ?? Loftus Versfeld ??? 2 March? 17:05?? @Vodacom #URC ??? TICKETS HERE: https://t.co/1SiDxHNUK5 pic.twitter.com/gRNzUGTqOS

The penny dropped when the Stormers carried themselves to the final in the 2021/22 tournament, with the Bulls unexpectedly setting up the date when they beat Leinster away in a semi-final to fly back to Cape Town for the final.

They lost that game 18-13 and, all of a sudden, there was talk of a growing hoodoo that John Dobson's side was extending over Jake White's charges.

This became a bit more apparent in the 2022/23 when the Stormers recorded a season double through respective 37-27 home and 23-19 away wins.

They sealed the season treble with a 33-21 quarter-final win before beating them again 26-20 in Cape Town in December.

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