Bulls flyhalf Handré Pollard will be crucial for the home team when they face Cardiff in a must-win home clash on Friday evening in Pretoria.
Image: BackpagePix
As the United Rugby Championship playoffs appear on the horizon, the Bulls are in the tenuous position of having won six games, lost six, and have six matches remaining in their bid to finish in the top eight.
With two-thirds of the tournament played, the Bulls are at 50 percent, a disappointing win-loss ratio for a side accustomed to playing in the URC final.
The men from Pretoria sit in eighth place on the points table, and they need no reminding that last week’s 32-19 defeat at Loftus to the Stormers was a lost opportunity to make inroads into the top eight.
Now they have very little margin for error as they host Cardiff on Friday and Munster on March 28 before overseas fixtures against Glasgow, the Dragons, and the Scarlets before finishing at home to the twin Italian challenge of Zebre and Benetton.
The refrain from the Bulls camp this week is that they were guilty of complacency against the Stormers and were out-passioned.
It goes without saying that the Bulls will play with a renewed desperation on Friday night, but that will hardly guarantee them the result they want — Cardiff have been a revelation this season. They are not in fifth place on the log for nothing, having won eight of their 12 games.
The Bulls will not only have to arrive with an improved mental attitude, but also play very well.
A telling statistic is that the Bulls have scored 83 points more than a Cardiff side that has won many of their games through their stingy defence. In other words, this game could come down to the Bulls’ attack versus the Welsh team’s defence.
Teams:
Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Stedman Gans, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Khuta Mchunu, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Jeandre Rudolph, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Willie le Roux.
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Mason Grady, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Jacob Beetham, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Alun Lawrence, 5 George Nott, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Liam Belcher (captain), 1 Rhys Barratt. Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 James Botham, 21 Taulupe Faletau, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Ioan Lloyd.
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland) Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Jonathan Lottering (South Africa) TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Date: Friday March 20, 2026
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 7pm.