Bulls prepare to lock horns with Stormers in Soweto showdown

Frans Ludeke insists his Pretoria Bulls side and Cape Town Stormers, their fellow finalists, were the two best teams in this season's Super 14 competition.

JOHANNESBURG // Frans Ludeke insists his Pretoria Bulls side and Cape Town Stormers, their fellow finalists, were the two best teams in this season's competition and are in their rightful place ahead of tonight's climax in Soweto. The clash in the Johannesburg township brings together the best defence in 2010 against the best attack, while the two South African sides are also the two that ended the regular season in positions one and two in the table.

"I think the two best teams in the competition are playing in the final," said Ludeke. "It's two South African teams, the guys know each other and it's a derby but that will not be important for us. "We are focusing on other things like making sure that our plan is good enough to work in the game for us." Allister Coetzee, his opposite number, has called on his Stormers players to "embrace the opportunity" the final will present them with.

"We are excited to play in the final of this competition and we want to embrace this occasion," Coetzee said. "We want to throw the kitchen sink at it. There's everything to play for but we're under no illusion that we're playing against a hell of a good side, but we've left no stone unturned to be well prepared. "If you want to make your mark for yourself in South African rugby then you don't get a better opponent than the Bulls.

"We have to embrace this opportunity. It's a fantastic climax to a great opportunity." * PA