Three-time Super Rugby champions the Bulls won’t find that their pre-season campaign gets any easier when they tackle English Premiership side Saracens at their Allianz Park, north London stronghold on Saturday.
The game (Kick-Off 17:15 SA Time, 15:15 BST & GMT) is due to be screened live on SuperSport 1 and CSN, after the Loftus-based side played out a 30 / 13 win minus the glare of television cameras against Super Rugby rivals the Cheetahs in Polokwane last Saturday.
There are few better ways to get European-stationed expatriate rugby players’ juices flowing than by pitting them against South African-based compatriots, and it seems Sarries – currently 3rd in the Premiership behind Northampton and Bath – will be in a position to field several against the presumably still rusty Bulls.
Various “Saffers” in the home team ranks appeared to come through their latest match at the weekend, an uncompromising 18 / 6 away loss to Clermont Auvergne, reasonably unscathed and despite the loss they have reached the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup.
5 Southern African-born players (if you throw in tough-as-teak Namibian flanker Jacques Burger) were involved in that match, either as starters or off the bench, and you can bet your last dollar they will have a special desire to be in the mix again this weekend.
So apart from Burger, who ought to come up against at least one Springbok on the side of the Bulls scrum in the form of fetcher Deon Stegmann, the scene is set for some other potentially spicy, all-SA match-ups.
Sarries captain and beanpole lock Alistair Hargreaves (ex-Sharks) may find that he is pitted against legendary lineout master Victor Matfield, although the veteran will apparently get very limited (if any) game-time as he is cotton-wooled instead for the needs of Super Rugby.
The Bulls have the drawback in the second row already of Flip van der Merwe being ruled out for the first few weeks, so will not take major chances in the quest to preserve the good health of Matfield.
Fit-again Bulls captain Pierre Spies will get a good workout if he encounters former Cats / Lions favourite Ernst Joubert in the No 8 berth during the tussle – Joubert came off the “splinters” against Clermont in the 59th minute as a replacement for Kelly Brown.
Behind the scrum, the midfield tussle may be highlighted by Bok incumbent Jan Serfontein policing Durban-born England stalwart Brad Barritt, whilst if the evergreen, 36-year-old Neil de Kock – last Bok cap against New Zealand in 2003 – turns out at scrumhalf, he could be up against another more current Test figure in Francois Hougaard.
Hougaard may be under pressure to nail down a routine start for the Bulls this year, as slippery substitute Piet van Zyl reportedly played a major role in tilting the balance of the Cheetahs match when introduced in the second half.
It seems the Bulls blew hot and cold – perhaps no surprise in that, in late January – against the Cheetahs, so they will look to up their performance level against Saracens, considering that their Super Rugby opener is against arch-rivals the Stormers only a fortnight on from it.
They have a squad this year that looks capable of challenging for a top-6 finish and resultant playoffs ticket, although the Sarries fixture ought to give their supporters a decent clue as to whether coach Frans Ludeke is genuinely keen to evolve their oft-maligned game-plan in 2015.
Sport24
Sarries have already got 2 big SA scalps in the Sharks and WP and they will want the Bulls’ scalp too… but will all their players be available considering the regular games of their season and the SIX Nations preparations?
Very early and rusty in the season for the Bulls, so I expect better continuity overall from the Sarries side and play. In addition I doubt that Frans Ludeke is astute enough to have figured out exactly where to take the Sarries team on effectively, so he’ll just say the the Bulls will concentrate on their OWN GAME… which is a sad excuse.
This cross-hemisphere match is important in the bigger scheme of things, as this type of encounter will continue to be a big draw-card for spectators the world over!
The Ex-Saffas must be amped for this one, to prove how good they are and how they have progressed over there in the North.
van dyk en burger saam met scalk brits gaan vir die bulls se los trio ore aan sit,sarries se scrumme gaan die bulls boss,moenie verbaas wees as die bulle met 20 punte verloor nie
3 @ smallies:
Ons sal maar moet sien, nê!
Bulls sal nog verroes wees, so vroeg in die seisoen, terwyl Sarries reeds goed geolie is in hulle seisoen.
3 @ smallies:
Hi smallies wie is van dyk? Not sure how the game will go as don’t know the final teams but one thing which we can probably sure of is that Saracens should give us a harder game than our last opponents
@ Bullscot:
sorry ernst joubert
@ Bullscot:
jip seeing as most of the cheetah star players of the last two years suddenly stays in pta
7 @ smallies:
Kom nou ou Smallies, moenie so suurgat wees nie… die spelers wou net graag vir ‘n goeie span speel vir ‘n change… hehehe
@ grootblousmile:
glad nie suurgat nie se dit net soos dit is atter niyakane lappies piet was van die cheetahs se top spelers en is nou by die bulls .dis maar hoe dit is….maar julle sit maar in die selde bootjie met vissionary afrigter van julle
6 @ smallies:
ja he is a really good player, maybe not quite at his peak anymore but still a tough player who has done so well for Saracens over the years. But we still don’t know who will be playing against the Bulls as Saracens have a game the next day, an LV Cup game – a competition they have tended to use fringe players in. Owen Farrell looks to have picked up a nasty knee injury this weekend and would probably not play, with all the injuries England have at the moment they may want Saracens to keep the Saracens players out of action this weekend which will be a pity.
9 @ smallies:
Nee ou Smallies, jy is lekker suur met die spelers en die Bulls, dit kom baie, baie duidelik deur.
Lappies, Trevor en Adriaan Strauss gaan lekker genoeg game time kry by die Bulls… en as Piet van Zyl net wil shine, sal hy ook genoeg game time kry.
7 @ smallies:
you mean we poached Strauss back from you… Cheetahs should be ok you have the rugby nursery/factory AKA Grey College on your doorstep.
@ Bullscot:
straus is bloem gebote groot geword is eers na skool bulls toe
@ grootblousmile:
Bliksem ek is moeg. Kulula.com het ons lelik rondef&# gister. Hulle maak niks aankondigings nie behalwe om te se hulle wag vir die crew… 4ure later 20:30 laat weet hulle ons passasiers day george lughawe nie meer vir ons sal wag nie en dat die vlug gekansaleer is al n uur voor die tyd terwyl ons soos n klomp d#€e daar staan en wag… Toe wou hulle niemand akkomodasie gee nie want die delay was kamstig die weer se skuld. Ons kon nie eers die comair manager sien nie want die moer kruip blykbaar weg in sy kantoor.
@ grootblousmile:
ja lappies sal seker speel kans kry sodra spies sy klein toonjie se nael skeur en dan uit is vir 9 maande
14 @ MacroBull:
Hahahha
Het julle toe eers vandag een of ander tyd gevlieg?
anyway ek gaan nou slaap werk 23h00 cheers almal
@ grootblousmile:
Vanoggend 7:50.
Hulle het seker gestrike. Ek was lanklaas so befok
@ smallies:
Cheers smallies
18 @ MacroBull:
Hahahaha
voor ek waai… ek sien die cheetahs en bulls het al kla ten minste twee games elk in die super reeks verloor want beide stuart berry en jafta is op die paneel……ai tog dit ook nog
@ smallies:
Ja nee hulle gaan seker jafta baseer in kaapstad. Dan is die jaar se conference cup verseker hulle sin tot hulle n neutrale ref kry in die knockouts
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