BULLS coach Johan Ackermann has advised his players to be on "final" mode ahead of their encounter with Dragons on Friday night.
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The Bulls head to Rodney Parade on Friday night on a “cup final” footing, according to coach Johan Ackermann, as they look to strengthen their United Rugby Championship playoff aspirations by beating the Dragons.
The Bulls are in eighth position with 40 points, just one point ahead of Connacht. The Dragons are in 15th place and are out of contention for a top-eight finish.
But all the Welsh clubs have plenty to play for because the Welsh Rugby Union is deliberating over which team to cut from next year’s URC as they address problems in the Welsh game.
And the Dragons are currently in good shape — they are enjoying an excellent run in the Challenge Cup, after back-to-back away wins against Stade Francais and Zebre to reach the semifinals.
The Bulls have been exceptional this year. They have won five of their last six matches, and the loss was an unlucky Champions Cup match against the Warriors in Glasgow.
By contrast, the Dragons have lost their last five URC matches, but they gave the Stormers a hard time recently in Cape Town and pushed the Lions close in Johannesburg. They held the Sharks to a 17-17 draw.
Dragons coach Fia Tiatia says his team has parked their Challenge Cup success and are ready for the Bulls.
“We celebrated what we did in Europe, but now we are back on the horse in the URC, and we have a good Bulls side coming.
“They have been over here for a while (resting in France), after they played Glasgow a few weekends ago, and have been together for several weeks, and are a good group. We’re excited to see them on Friday.”
Dragons: 15 Cai Evans, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Fine Inisi, 12 Fetuli Paea, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Niall Armstrong, 8 Harrison Keddie (c), 7 Harry Beddall, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Seb Davies, 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Wyn Jones. Replacements: 16 Oli Burrows, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Morgan Lloyd, 22 Harri Ackerman, 23 Huw Anderson.
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 David Kriel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcelle 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 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Willie le Roux, 23 Sergeal Petersen.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland) Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Lucas Yendle (Wales) TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)
Kick-off: 8.45pm, SA time.
Date: Friday, April 17.