KNOCKOUT RUGBY: Bok-laden Bulls and injury-plagued Stormers face uphill URC semis challenges

The Bulls and the Stormers face contrasting battles and have contrasting injury issues in this weekend’s United Rugby Championship semi-finals.

The Bulls have named a Springbok-laden squad to face No 1 seeds Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-finals at Murrayfield on Saturday, which included a 150th cap for hooker Johan Grobbelaar and 100th cap for captain Marcell Coetzee.

They are just part of the swathe of Boks that Bulls coach Johan Ackermann has at his disposal for what will be a tough battle against Franco Smith’s men.

There are 11 Boks in the Bulls starting XV and a further five on the bench. And it’s likely Ackermann will need all of them, playing at or near their best, to overcome the Warriors in Edinburgh.

Due to preparations for the Commonwealth Games, which are taking place in Glasgow from 23 July to 2 August, the Warriors’ Scotstoun Stadium was not available as it will be used in the quadrennial sporting jamboree.

So, it will be the unusual sight of a crowd with a healthy dose of Edinburghers supporting their great rivals Glasgow.

The Bulls and Glasgow matchup is turning into a salivating modern-day rivalry, which was ignited when the Warriors beat the Bulls 21-16 at Loftus in the 2024 URC final.

The Scottish team had no right to win that day, considering they had to beat then-defending champions Munster in the quarterfinals before travelling to Pretoria.

It was Glasgow again who eliminated the Bulls from the Champions Cup last 16 in 2025, to add further fuel to the growing tension of the rivalry.

In all, the teams have played against each other seven times in the URC era, and Glasgow lead the head-to-head 4-3.

This is the Bulls’ fourth appearance in the semi-finals (2022, 2024, 2025, 2026) and they have won the previous three, which included statement wins over Leinster in 2022 and 2024.

The fact that the match is at Murrayfield will even out the away disadvantage ever so slightly. But not much.

Glasgow are a purring machine that has few, if any, weaknesses. But the Bulls can look around their own change-room and see quality everywhere.

Scrumhalf Embrose Papier has been in the form of his life and was duly named South African URC Player of the Year this week. Eleven tries in the tournament tells the story of his attacking prowess, but he also manages the game with a good tactical kicking game.

Outside him, flyhalf Handré Pollard has grown into the campaign and is now playing his best rugby of the year. Similarly, veteran fullback Willie le Roux continues to astound with his ability to unlock defences w