They know what is waiting for them on Saturday night as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship returns, but Irish side Connacht have promised the Vodacom Bulls one thing when they arrive : It will be physical.
Coach Peter Wilkins said there was no question that his team needed to front up against the South African side, and said physicality was non negotiable when the teams return to URC action this weekend, the first time since the Irish team beat Dragons 31-7 a month ago.
“It’s a great challenge,” Wilkins said. “I’ve been reading a fair bit of South African media myself, just trying to get a feel, obviously seeing that touring squad come out. But even if they protect some of those Springboks for the Saracens game, the guys, who are next in, are fantastic quality as well.”
With that in mind, Wilkins believes physicality is “non-negotiable” this week and his side will need it to topple the Bulls and keep them from winning their first game in Galway.
“It’s exactly the sort of game you want when you're restarting a block of the season like this. In a game at home, you want it to be a big challenge. You want it to be an exciting spectacle for the supporters. And we can't wait.
“You have to at least match them up front if you're going to stand a chance of competing within the game. But at the same time, you can't turn the game so loose and try to run all those big forwards around, because with any loose balls, any loose kicks, they are a team with outside backs who just absolutely love to work in that sort of environment.”
While Connacht will be without stars Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen, Finlay Bealham and Cian Prendergast, who are with Ireland at the moment, they will have Irish international Dave Hefferman back and Argentinian winger Santiago Cordero as well.
Wilkins said while it would be wrong to describe the fixture as a “must-win”, the Irish team wants the Bulls scalp in front of their fans.
“We all understand the importance of our home performances and our home results,” he says. “We need wins, so it’s a massive challenge. Three and three going into the break in terms of wins and losses, it’s satisfying,” says Wilkins.
A win would propel Connacht above the Bulls as only one point separates the two sides in fifth and sixth place at this stage of the competition.