Vodacom Bulls Aiming To Avoid Another Scottish Slip Up In URC Knockouts
Vodacom Bulls Aiming To Avoid Another Scottish Slip Up In URC Knockouts
The Bulls host Edinburgh in a fierce URC quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld. Both sides near full strength, with set-piece battles key in this clash.
Saturday afternoon at Loftus Versfeld will play host to what might just be the most underrated of this season’s BKT United Rugby Championship quarterfinals.
Hosting a Scottish team at home for a second successive season in the knockout stages, the Vodacom Bulls will be wary of the threat that Edinburgh Rugby poses.
Coming up short in last season’s final at home to the Glasgow Warriors, Jake White’s Bulls will be highly motivated to avoid a similar fate this time around.
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Edinburgh will arrive in Pretoria confident of claiming a second successive win over the Bulls, having downed them in the EPCR Challenge Cup quarterfinals.
Team News
The Bulls have been boosted by the return of Springboks Wilco Louw and Embrose Papier, as director of rugby, Jake White fields a near full-strength side for Saturday’s quarterfinal clash against Edinburgh Rugby at Loftus Versfeld.
Louw and Papier, both rested for the Round 18 win over the Dragons, return to the starting XV as the Bulls aim to reach the semifinals after falling short last season.
Louw anchors the front row alongside Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Johan Grobbelaar, who swaps in for Akker van der Merwe at hooker. Papier links up with Keagan Johannes in a dynamic halfback pairing.
Cobus Wiese and JF van Heerden continue in the second row, while Marcell Coetzee replaces Nama Xaba at openside flanker, joining Cameron Hanekom and captain Ruan Nortje in a hard-hitting loose trio.
In the back line, Canan Moodie shifts to the right wing, forming a potent back three with Sebastian de Klerk and veteran fullback Willie le Roux. David Kriel returns to partner Harold Vorster in midfield.
Xaba and Sergeal Petersen fall out of the matchday 23, with Marco van Staden headlining a strong bench.
For Edinburgh, club centurion Jamie Ritchie returns at blindside flanker in the only change from their win over Ulster, as Ben Muncaster moves to the bench.
Words From The Camp
All too aware of the power that this Vodacom Bulls side possesses, Edinburgh’s South African head coach Sean Everitt said, "We know the Bulls are always a massive physical threat, especially here at Loftus.
“To compete, and to win, we will need to be at our absolute very best – that means bringing passion and intensity, but crucially, it also demands composure and clinical discipline for the full 80 minutes.
"We've been building momentum steadily throughout the season, and the players have worked incredibly hard to put ourselves in this position. There's a real belief and confidence within the squad right now, and we're in a good spot mentally and physically to tackle this challenge head-on.
"Winning a BKT URC knockout match on the road would be a significant achievement for this club. It's something we've been working towards, and the opportunity to make history is a powerful driver for us. We've got a fantastic group of players who are hungry for success, and we're determined to put in a performance that reflects the ambition of Edinburgh Rugby."
Focusing on his side’s potential, White was bullish when previewing the match.
“I’ve done this many times in different competitions, and I’m not saying that in an arrogant way, this one is very different," White said.
“This group of players exceeded expectations early on. To play in the final in the first year [of the URC] when the average age of the team was 23 years old, to get to another final last year …
“It’s different because I get the feeling we’re maturing as a group. Yes, there have been additions to the squad, like the experienced Willie le Roux, but what’s happening is players like Grobbies [Johan Grobbelaar], Ruan Nortje and Simphiwe Matanzima have all grown up as a junior squad in those formative times.
“I feel the vibe’s different, the lessons they learned are a lot more meaningful now because they’ve played together a lot more.”
Key Matchup
Given the tight nature of the two previous fixtures between these two sides this season, where both sides have claimed a six-point win, this clash is a challenging one to predict.
In Round 2, the Bulls held out for a 22-16 win courtesy of two long-range breaks from Canan Moodie, both of which resulted in tries.
The first break saw the Springboks winger set up Jannes Kirsten for the match’s first try, before sealing the deal with the final score himself.
Edinburgh, to its credit, stayed in the fight in large part due to ill-discipline and strong kicking performance from Ross Thompson, who nailed three penalties and a conversion.
In the Challenge Cup quarterfinal, the picture would be completely different with Edinburgh blowing the Bulls away early to race into a 31-7 lead.
From here, a combination of ill-discipline and the Bulls' power game brought the South African side right back into contention as time wound down.
Ending the match on the offensive, the Bulls would be undone by a Pierre Schoeman turnover as time expired.
This leads up to the key matchup this weekend, as the Edinburgh front row of Schoeman, Ewan Ashman and D’arcy Rae get set to tussle with the all-Springbok trio of Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw.
On paper, the Bulls trio quite possibly is the best combination in the URC this season.
At scrum time, the Bulls have a 95% win rate, which is the best in the league. Edinburgh also ranks highly in third position with a win rate of 93%.
Interestingly, at line-out time, both sides have an 86% win rate, making for another intriguing battleground.
Blessed with depth in this department, both sides have strong replacement front rows, but ultimately, Edinburgh in particular, will be looking to get as much as it can from its starters.
Away from the set-piece, Schoeman is a key ball carrier for the Scottish side, ranking 14th in the URC for successful carries with 63 (124 total carries). This dynamism in the carry has seen Schoeman cross the line on six occasions thus far this season.
For the Bulls, all three front rowers are strong carries, with Grobbelaar and replacement hooker Akker van der Merwe scoring nine tries between them, while Wessels has scored three of his own.
Crucially, the battle between the big men will decide which of the two sides' back rows will have ample front-foot ball from which to punish the defense.
Both back rows have exceptional ball carries with the Bulls’ Cameron Hanekom scoring six tries in all competitions this season, while ranking fifth in offloads in the URC with 23, to go with his 34 defenders beaten.
Prediction
Leaning into the previous two fixtures between these sides, this clash could well go down to the wire.
For us, we can see an argument for both sides.
Starting with the Bulls, who have been regulars in the knockout stages of the URC, the thought of losing a home semifinal and potential final, depending on results elsewhere, is unfathomable. Should they slip up to Edinburgh, serious questions will be asked of the program that White is building.
Building on this point, there is a very real possibility that Edinburgh will stay in the fight through to the closing stages. At which point, the ghosts of previous failures could creep into the Bulls’ players’ minds.
Should this scenario play out, the absence of fly-half Johann Goosen will be felt by the Bulls, with Keagan Johannes deputizing at fly-half, rather than playing in his preferred scrumhalf position.
Working on the premise that this clash is going to be similar to the two previous meetings between the sides, this one should be tight. We are backing the home side to get it done, but would not be as shocked as many if Edinburgh do the job. Bulls by 4.
Team Rosters
Vodacom Bulls
Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Sebastian De Klerk, Keagan Johannes, Embrose Papier, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Cobus Wiese, J F Van Heerden, Marcell Coetzee, Ruan Nortje (CAPT), Cameron Hanekom
Replacements: Akker Van der Merwe, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, Jannes Kirsten, Marco Van Staden, Zak Burger, Stedman Gans, Devon Williams
Edinburgh Rugby
Wes Goosen, Darcy Graham, Matt Currie, James Lang, Harry Paterson, Ross Thompson, Ali Price, Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D’arcy Rae, Marshall Sykes, Sam Skinner, Ben Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury (CAPT)
Replacements: Paddy Harrison, Boan Venter, Javan Sebastian, Liam McConnell, Ben Muncaster, Conor McAlpine, Ben Healy, Mark Bennett
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