Bulls stack Springboks for must-win Champions Cup clash against Bristol Bears

Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann said all or nothing for the Champions Cup and stayed true to his word by selecting a strong squad for their encounter with the Bristol Bears at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.

Ackermann selected no more than 10 Springboks in his starting XV, with another two on the bench as they look to keep their European hopes alive in this do-or-die clash in Pretoria (3pm kick-off). A victory, especially with a bonus point, will keep them in the running to make the Champions Cup playoffs, but a third loss in the competition will end any ambitions of making it through.

That is why Ackermann went with his strongest side as the team looks to change its fortunes following a string of poor results and close encounters. The Loftus side is on a six-match losing streak and but will look to turn their fortunes around after a good display against the Stormers last weekend.

The Bulls made two changes to the starting XV that lost in Cape Town, bringing in Harold Vorster to replace the injured Canan Moodie, while David Kriel made a positional switch to outside centre to accommodate Vorster. Up front, Springbok Jan-Hendrik Wessels replaces fellow Bok Gerhard Steenekamp, who drops to the bench. There are also a few changes on the replacement bench as Ackermann shifted to a 5-3 split in favour of the forwards.

Embrose Papier, who was drafted into the run-on team after an injury to Paul de Wet last weekend, will combine with Handré Pollard. How the halfback-pairing fares on Saturday will go a long way in determining the result for the Bulls.

The physicality of the Bulls' backrow, consisting of eighthman Jeandre Rudolph and flankers Elrigh Louw and Marco van Staden, will be equally important. Their presence at the breakdown could give the side plenty of quick possession or turnovers when on defence.

“Things are feeling a bit different now that we have everybody available, and hopefully we can get consistency in selection,” Ackermann said.

“It doesn’t help, though, when you have Canan for one week and then he is out. Kurt-Lee (Arendse) and Cameron (Hanekom) are still injured. They were probably the stars at the Bulls for the last couple of years. But then you have guys like Jeandré stepping up and there are other guys too.

“It is a different team, and the same squad hasn’t played continuously, which brings some confidence and momentum. We are close. If we do get that consistency, we will get a new start for our campaign.”

Losing the first two Champions Cup games was not ideal; however, Ackermann still believes they are firmly in the picture to make the playoffs. Bristol is two from two and arrives in the capital with plenty of confidence. They also have a score to settle with the home team after losing to them in 2024’s tournament.

That match in Bristol turned out to be a make-or-break for the English side, and the Bulls thwarted their chances of progressing in the European competitions.

Ackermann knows they could face the same fate if they can’t beat their opponents.

“We could be out of both competitions, or we may stand a chance of dropping to the Challenge Cup. Things will then boil down to the final pool game. The reality for us is that this game is the decider if we want to progress in the main competition.

“We are facing a very good team and to turn it around, we must ensure we play for the full 80 minutes. The fact that we are playing at Loftus is great, but it is up to us to play until the final whistle and not have parts of the second half where we switch off.”

Bulls XV

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Voster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortjé (captain), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels.

Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Sergeal Petersen.