Scrumhalf Embrose Papier is confident in the ability of veterans Marcell Coetzee and Wilco Louw to lead the Vodacom Bulls to a historic win over the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.

Not since the advent of the URC have the Bulls beaten the Stormers in Cape Town, and Jake White’s team travels to the Mother City on Saturday without the services of Louw, Nortje and flyhalf Johan Goosen, three Boks ruled out with medium- to long-term injuries.

“These are tough losses for us because Elrigh Louw and Ruan Nortje are big leaders on the field – the two main captains of our team and they usually give us front -foot ball,” Papier told reporters after training on Tuesday.

“But we have big guys like Marcell Coetzee and Wilco Louw who can step up, drive the team and bring their leadership.”

Coetzee and Louw will bring the collective experience of 47 Test caps; the tighthead prop a wrecking-ball scrummager who prides himself on tilting the field for his back row to run downhill, while Coetzee offers the deadly combo of breakdown threat and fiery ball-carrier in a loose trio with Cameron Hanekom and Cobus Wiese.

“For a scrumhalf, when you have time on the ball you can make better decisions and make them earlier, so it’s important for these guys to give us possession on the front foot,” added Papier, referring to the battle for momentum.

The Bulls have the momentum of two wins and the comfort of third place on the standings, while the Stormers (12th) are in a two-game slump and racing to close the gap on the top eight. However, the Stormers put together a seven-match streak against the Bulls prior to losing at Loftus last season, and it remains to be seen whether the Highveld heavies can get one over their coastal rivals at a packed Cape Town Stadium.

“The Stormers have planted the seeds in our head that it’s difficult to play them,” said the Bulls scrumhalf. “They always have a huge crowd which makes it tough, they thrive off the energy the stadium gives them.

“But we don’t have as much pressure on us, the Stormers have to win because of their position on the log. They love to move the ball around so it’s important for us to stay tight as a unit to absorb all the pressure.

“It’s going to be a tough one. It’s going to be a physical battle. The guys who want it the most will take the win.”

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