Glasgow Warriors flanker Matt Fagerson has warned that the Bulls will once again demand the ultimate test in physicality when the two teams meet on Saturday.
With a place in the URC final at stake, the Scotland international expects the Bulls’ trademark strength up front to be on full display as they throw everything they have at their opponents at Murrayfield.
The Warriors have had the edge over the Bulls this season, defeating them in both the URC (21-12 in October) and the Champions Cup (25-21 in April), but both were close contests at Scotstoun, the Warriors’ home stadium, which is unavailable for this weekend’s clash.
The Bulls do have an away victory over the Warriors – a 26-19 win at Scotstoun last season – which shows that the rivalry is far from one-sided, though the Warriors have a slight 4-3 overall edge.
“It has become a bit of a rivalry, hasn’t it?” Fagerson told The Scotsman. “Probably from the first game we played against them at Scotstoun, it set the bar for us in terms of physicality.
“That was probably one of the most physical games I’ve ever played. It’s just the way they play and the kind of athletes they are. You have to front up, and if you don’t, it can be a very long day.
“You’ve seen what they do to teams out on the Highveld,” he added. “We’ve had some brilliant match-ups over the last two or three years and they’ll be ready to go.
The Bulls have been on a clear upward trajectory as the season has progressed, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed in Glasgow.
“We’ve played them twice already recently and they’ve improved a lot, even since the last time we faced them here a couple of months ago.”
Glasgow are determined to give several departing stars – including Huw Jones, Jack Dempsey and Johnny Matthews – a fitting farewell by winning a second URC title – but the Bulls are in a similar situation with some of their looming exits – including Springbok stars Ruan Nortje, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Wilco Louw.
“We’ve got a lot of talismans leaving, so it would be massive to win it again with this group,” Fagerson added. “There’s incredible quality in this squad and that’s what everyone is striving towards.”
