The Bulls have made their intentions clear. They will beat Bristol at Loftus come Saturday.
Johan Ackermann has selected the strongest side available to him to take on the visiting English side.
A host of Springboks, including Embrose Papier, Handré Pollard, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Wilco Louw, and Ruan Nortje, will run onto the pitch for the Bulls. Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cameron Hanekom, and Canan Moodie remain sidelined, but David Kriel, Harold Vorster, and Sebastian de Klerk all possess the killer instinct.
The Bulls, who endure a six-game losing streak, have shown incremental improvements in their most recent outings. They conceded 40-plus points against the Lions, Bordeaux-Bègles, and Northampton, but they have managed to reduce these defensive frailties, conceding only 21 against the Sharks and only 12 against the Stormers.
The obvious next step for the men from Pretoria would be a home win.
Bristol, who boast a perfect start to the Champions Cup campaign with two wins from two matches, will not make it easy for the Bulls. Bristol currently sit fourth in the English Premiership after squeezing past Sale last week. The victory came at a price, as the 33-year-old Zimbabwean prop Lovejoy Chawatama suffered a calf injury and won’t feature in the match against the Bulls.
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“Lovejoy did his calf in the game, and he is a big loss. His scrummaging has come to the fore, and his understanding of our game and fitness has really come on. He was going really well. So that is a big loss, but George Kloska came back from injury last week and did really well, and we have young Jimmy Halliwell, who has been in and out and developing behind that group as well. So it is like with any of these injuries, the next guy in needs to step up and take his opportunity,” Lam told reporters.
Watch as Bristol players practice their Afrikaans
A home win for the Bulls will show that Ackermann has the team on the right track to turn around their fortunes.
Team to face Bristol:
- Jan-Hendrik Wessels
- Johan Grobbelaar
- Wilco Louw
- Cobus Wiese
- Ruan Nortje (Capt)
- Marco van Staden
- Elrigh Louw
- Jeandre Rudolph
- Embrose Papier
- Handré Pollard
- Stravino Jacobs
- Harold Vorster
- David Kriel
- Sebastian de Klerk
- Willie le Roux
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
