The Bulls will be without many of their Springboks when they face the Lions. Then they have big EPCR matches against Bordeaux Bègles and Northampton Saints.
After a month-long break, the Bulls need to shake off their bruising European tour and refocus ahead of Saturday’s difficult home fixture against the Lions.
The Bulls are sixth on the United Rugby Championship table with three wins from five matches. They face the Lions at Loftus at 2pm on Saturday before turning their attention to the Champions Cup, with Bordeaux Bègles visiting Pretoria next week and Northampton Saints awaiting them in England the week after.
Both fixtures will be stern tests in a competition where the Bulls need redemption, having exited the pool stages last season with just one win.
Bulls seek a turnaround
Just before the break, Bulls coach Johan Ackermann said he had hoped to be in a better position after their European tour, where they lost 28-7 to Ulster in Belfast, beat Connacht 28-27 in Galway, and then lost 21-12 to Glasgow at Scotstoun Stadium, over three weeks in October.
While Bulls president Willem Strauss described the Ulster game on a broadcast group message as “arguably our worst performance since joining the URC”, the last defeat, to Glasgow, hurt the most.
The Bulls were ahead 12-7 after 60 minutes when a controversial yellow card was presented to Francois Klopper. Glasgow received a penalty try for the perceived infringement and then scored again with their numerical advantage to win the game.
Ackermann said he was “flabbergasted” at how the incident was not reviewed, with Klopper appearing to be on his feet in the maul, while referee Craig Evans made time to double-check and disallow a Bulls try minutes before.
He said it was “the big swing” in the game, and put a “big damper” on their tour.
The coach added they would work on defence and decision-making in their break, after conceding 21 tries and 147 points in total in five games, and coming second in possession and territory more often than not.
Bulls must make do without Springboks
The Bulls will be without several Springboks selected for South Africa’s end-of-year squad to face Wales when they host the Lions.
Ruan Nortjé, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Wilco Louw, Marco van Staden, Canan Moodie and Handré Pollard will miss out, while Jan-Hendrik Wessels is still serving his ban.
However, Cameron Hanekom and Elrigh Louw may return from their injuries in time.
In the URC, the Bulls have won 7 out of eight matches against the Lions, including the last four games. The Lions last beat the Bulls in the URC in March 2023.
But the Lions thumped a Springbok-depleted Bulls 44-5 in the Currie Cup in August.
