The free-scoring Bulls will be aiming to direct their momentum at Ulster when the sides clash in the fourth round of the URC at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
To Win
Bulls | Draw | Ulster
Handicap
Bulls | Ulster
Match context
Johan Ackermannn’s men have brought up half-centuries in each of their last two outings in Pretoria; thumping the Lions 57-15 in the URC before easing to a 56-20 defeat of Stade Francais in the Champions Cup this past weekend. Despite their narrow round two URC defeat at Munster at the start of the month, the Herd have looked good so far and head into this fixture placed third overall.
It’s obviously a team effort that’s carried them this far, but it would be remiss not to mention the form of certain individuals in the set-up right now, particularly Cheswill Jooste and Jeandre Rudolph. 20-year-old Jooste bagged a hattrick against the Top 14 outfit on the weekend with his first try coming just 20 seconds in, and it’s surely only a matter of time before the flying winger gets his first Springbok cap. Having already featured in a Bok alignment camp in February, could it come this November?
As for Rudolph, who’s been one of the most consistent players in South African rugby for years, his international prospects remain less certain, though that hasn’t stopped the likes of Heyneke Meyer from calling for his selection to the national team. The loose forward’s chip ‘n chase try this past Saturday was a thing of beauty and there wouldn’t be too many rugby fans who’d argue with his inclusion in the green and gold next month.
Ulster are placed 11th in the URC after two draws and a defeat, and head into this clash off the back of a 40-21 Challenge Cup win over Zebre in Parma. Richie Murphy’s team would have been glad to have finally added to their W column this season, but the reality is they will be in another tough battle to qualify for the playoffs and this two-game tour of the Republic won’t do their early season confidence any favours.
The Belfastians may have won three of the four matches played between the clubs to date, but each of those victories came in Northern Ireland and the 47-21 loss they copped in Pretoria this month two years ago suggests a mammoth effort will be required to secure an upset this weekend.
Players to watch
Cam Hanekom (Bulls)
It would be tempting to include either Jooste or Rudolph here, but instead star man Hanekom cracks the nod. The powerhouse flanker just keeps on getting better, with his performances over the past fortnight again begging the question: just how good can this guy become?
He may not yet be getting as many Bok minutes as he could with the likes of Jasper Wiese et al. still ahead in the pecking order, but goodness is this bloke the real deal. If Ulster don’t man up at the contact point, they will be in for a long afternoon on the highveld with this chap on the park for the Bulls.
Juarno Augustus (Ulster)
Leading the Ulster charge in their bid to stop the likes of Hanekom will be Augustus, who, if he’d had better luck, would probably already be a capped Springbok himself by now. Due to some injury trouble, the giant eighthman hasn’t quite hit the heights for the Northern Irish club that he did in the colours of Northampton Saints, but there’s still a long season ahead and a big performance at Loftus could just be the boost he needs to force himself back into the Bok selection picture.
His tussle with the Bulls forwards should be worth the price of admission alone.
Tactical overview
Ulster put six tries past Zebre in Europe, but things will be a lot different this weekend at Fortress Loftus. They can rightly take some positives from that latest showing although a much greater physical challenge awaits them at altitude against a Bulls team that has been scoring tries for fun.
17 touchdowns in their last two outings is just outrageous stuff, and Ulster’s defence must be dialled in from the get-go if they wish to prevent the hosts from maintaining that strike rate. In this regard, the visitors will need to raise the standard of their set piece work as well as their physicality.
Unfortunately for Ulster though, they haven’t shown enough this season to suggest they will get close at Loftus.
Prediction
The Bulls to clear the handicap with another big win this weekend.
