While the Six Nations takes centre stage this weekend, the Vodacom United Rugby Championship serves up a mouth-watering South African derby as the Vodacom Bulls host the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld. We take a look at the match from a betting angle and offer up some bets for consideration.
Leinster are still odd-on favourites to win the URC at 1.95 with Glasgow 5.00 and the Stormers and Bulls both priced at 7.50 are the only other sides in single figures.
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Vodacom Bulls
The Bulls are in excellent form heading into this fixture, having won four of their last five matches. Their most impressive recent result was a dominant 41–12 home win over the Sharks, which followed a powerful 52–17 away victory over the Lions in January. Before that they also edged Edinburgh 19–17 on the road in the URC and beat Section Paloise in the European Challenge Cup.
Their only blemish in recent times was a 49–61 home loss to Bristol in the Champions Cup.
The Vodacom Bulls are currently one of the form sides in the competition and Loftus Versfeld is always a tough place to play for opposition teams.
Stormers
The Stormers arrive in Pretoria in poor form, having lost three consecutive URC matches. They went down 24–10 at home to the Lions, 24–36 away to the Sharks in January and lost 19–30 at home to the Sharks the week before that. They have dropped to 5th on the table having led after 8 successive wins but do have a game in hand over the sides above them.
Their last positive result came in a 39–26 European Challenge Cup win over Leicester Tigers in the Champions Cup and the Stormers will be desperate to take the win and get their season back on track.
Head-to-Head:
The head-to-head record between these two sides has been closely contested in recent seasons. The Stormers have won two of the last three meetings, including a 13–8 home win this season and a 19–16 away win at Loftus in March 2025. However, the Bulls won the encounter before that, a 33–32 win away in Cape Town in February 2025 and claimed a dominant 40–22 home victory in March 2024. The fixture tends to be tight, but the Bulls have a strong home record in this rivalry.
Betting and Verdict:
The bookies have the Bulls as strong favourites going into this weekend, trading at 1.36 for the win, while the Stormers are priced at 3.65. The draw is at 23.00.
Handicap: Bulls [−7.5]
The Bulls are in the kind of form that makes them difficult to oppose at Loftus. Four wins in their last five matches, including a hammering of the Sharks in their last start, suggests they are peaking at the right time.
The Stormers meanwhile have lost three URC games in a row and have conceded points freely away from home. A win-only bet on the Bulls at 1.36 falls below our minimum odds threshold, but the handicap at 1.95 offers genuine value. The Bulls have covered similar lines at home this season and the Stormers’ current away form does not inspire confidence and the Bulls by 8 ore more is the call.
Suggested bet: Handicap, Vodacom Bulls [−7.5] at 1.95.
The points line is 56.5 and I think we could have a high scoring encounter.
A market I fancy here is for a quick start to the match and I am betting we get at least 4 tries before the break.
Additional bet: Over 3.5 tries in the 1st half at 1.87
Click here to bet on Bulls v Stormers
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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