The Vodacom Bulls carry South Africa’s last remaining hopes in European Cup competitions into battle on Saturday as they take on Scottish side Edinburgh in their EPCR Challenge Cup quarterfinal match-up in the Scottish capital.
✨ Quarter-Finals Fixtures ✨
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Jake White’s side has played down their chances in the match, mainly due to a tough tour that includes two very crucial United Rugby Championship battles in the next fortnight that follow this weekend, but it is abundantly clear that his side will go all out to keep a South African team in the competition.
The Bulls’ impressive win in the haze of Bayonne, in front of a partisan crowd and with the odds against them, has shown the players have more than enough grit and determination to get them through. The key, as always this weekend, will be accuracy in the way they execute.
Johan Goosen’s return to the team will also be crucial as the Bulls have missed the accuracy of a dead shot pivot that can keep them on the front foot. But what they gain in terms of kicking accuracy, they tend to lose a bit in attacking play, and after Edinburgh’s strong start against the Emirates Lions last weekend, the Bulls will be wary.
The two coaches know each other incredibly well, White having been the Director of Rugby above Edinburgh’s Sean Everitt at the Hollywoodbets Sharks before Everitt took over as head coach.
The two then combined again when Everitt left the Sharks for the Bulls for a brief time, before he joined Edinburgh with the Bulls winning the match at Loftus Versfeld between the two sides at the beginning of the season.
Yet, that wasn’t an easy game and the Bulls had to scramble for a 22-16 win - thanks to a try by Canan Moodie against the run of play at the time.
Since then the Bulls have improved significantly and their third spot in the URC is testament to their form - especially away from home. This season they have seen some impressive wins away from Loftus at Benetton, Connacht and Ospreys and they will hope to add Edinburgh to their scalp list this weekend as well.
BULLS' POWER, FORWARD PLAY AND PHYSICALITY
Everitt is rightly wary of the power that the Bulls pose. For all their form out wide - and they did score some excellent tries against Bayonne - the Bulls are based around the best scrum in the URC, and a driving maul that is among the best in the business.
They pride themselves on their forward play and physicality, and Everitt rightly points out that this is the key for his side. They have the strike power out wide as well, but to beat the Bulls, they will need parity up front.
It will be intriguing to see the battle with former Bulls prop Pierre Schoeman and Scottish international Zander Fagerson - if they are selected - go up against the Bulls scrum. That battle in itself will be worth the admission ticket.
Out wide, Duhan van der Merwe’s ankle injury will keep him out of the game, but with Scottish whizz Darcy Graham and last weekend’s man of the match Wes Goosen in fine form, the Scots won’t be lacking pace.
Everitt rightly said it was a step up for his side this week from the Lions.
“Yes, it is a step up,” Everitt acknowledged. “Bulls are two-time URC finalists. They had a good win against Bayonne away from home, and South African teams have struggled against the French teams away. So, it was important for them to get that win.”
“We know they pride themselves on set-piece and physicality. So, a difficult team to play against. We know them quite well after playing them in the earlier rounds of the URC and then obviously at home last year.
"So, we know what they’re going to bring. It’s about us being able to stop them and using the opportunity that we can create against them.”
The match will not be the only one in the EPCR Challenge Cup that will interest South Africans, but it is the one that matters most.
At stake for the Bulls is a possible semifinal match-up with another South African coach - Bath’s Johann van Graan - as the English side take on their countrymen Gloucester in Sunday’s final quarterfinal.
Van Graan is a former Bulls and Springbok assistant coach and would relish such a match-up, but both teams need to win their respective matches this weekend first.
The other two quarterfinals see Ospreys host Lyon, the side that ended the Sharks’ defence of the title they won last season, while Irish side Connacht host Racing 92 in the other quarterfinal.
QUARTERFINALS
(Pool stage rankings in brackets)
Saturday 12 April
QF 3: Edinburgh Rugby (3) v Vodacom Bulls (11), Hive Stadium (1:30pm)
QF 4: Ospreys (4) v Lyon Olympique Universitaire (5), Swansea.com Stadium (6:30pm)
QF 1: Connacht Rugby (1) v Racing 92 (9), Dexcom Stadium (9pm)
Sunday 13 April
QF 2: Bath Rugby (10) v Gloucester Rugby (15), The Recreation Ground (6:30pm)
Semifinals – 2/3/4/ May
SF 1: winner QF 1 v winner QF 4
SF 2: winner QF 2 v winner QF 3
NB: The matches will be played in Europe and the highest-ranked clubs from the pool stage will have home venue advantage
2025 EPCR Challenge Cup final: Friday 23 May; Principality Stadium, Cardiff.