After two years of absolute heartbreak as bridesmaids on the grandest stage, the ultimate pursuit of silverware begins anew for the Vodacom Bulls. This Saturday at 18:30 SAST, the Pretoria powerhouse opens its 2026/27 United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign away from home, stepping directly into an opening-day trap against a notoriously dangerous Zebre Parma side in the north of Italy.
Head coach Johan Ackermann takes charge of his first competitive match for the Pretoria franchise with an unequivocal message: reputation counts for nothing in Week 1. The Bulls are aiming to reach their fifth Grand Final in six years across elite competitions, but their primary hurdle is securing points on the road while missing frontline Springbok stars due to international commitments.
While the Bulls comprehensively defeated the Italian side 54–19 in Pretoria in May, and took a resounding 54–29 win on their last trip to Italy in November 2023, Zebre cannot be taken lightly. The club from Parma made a name for themselves last year by shocking the tournament with back-to-back victories to open their campaign. Playing in front of their home crowd, a completely fresh Zebre lineup will look to disrupt the visiting South Africans early on.
The Vodacom Bulls carry an elite opening-weekend record into this campaign, having successfully won their first match of the tournament in each of the last four consecutive URC seasons.
Furthermore, travelling north yields little fear for the Pretoria franchise. They have tasted defeat only once in their last five competitive visits to Italian soil.
Crucially, history remains heavily weighted in favour of the visitors ahead of this weekend's clash in Parma. The Vodacom Bulls maintain a perfect unbeaten streak against Zebre Parma, having never lost a URC fixture to the Italian club since the inception of the cross-hemisphere competition.
The Bulls have named an exciting, blended backline spearheaded by the immense experience of veteran fullback Willie le Roux. He will provide crucial tactical direction to explosive, returning wingers Stravino Jacobs and Sebastian de Klerk.
This combination clashes directly with a dangerous Italian backfield. Zebre features veteran playmaker Tommaso Allan at fullback and the lethal Simone Gesi out wide.
With several tight-five options unavailable, Ackermann hands massive starting opportunities to Alu Tshakweni, Juann Else, and Francois Klopper in the front row. They face a big test from an aggressive Italian pack led by scrumhalf and captain Alessandro Fusco and robust eighth-man Giovanni Licata.
On the defensive end, captain Marcell Coetzee will guide a loose trio featuring Hanro Liebenberg and Jeandre Rudolph. Their main task will be slowing down Zebre's quick-tapping, expansive recycling game to prevent the hosts from finding rhythm.
Zebre Parma will throw everything at the Bulls in the opening 20 minutes, using their emotional home crowd advantage to look for an upset.
However, the Bulls' tactical kicking game, steered by Le Roux and Curwin Bosch, along with a quality bench, should allow the South Africans to steady the ship and squeeze the game late in the second half.
Teams:
Zebre Parma: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Mirko Belloni, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi,10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco (c), 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Juan Ignacio Castellano, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Federico Pisani. Replacements: 16 Francisco Minervino, 17 Sergio Pelliccioli, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Franco Carrera, 20 Davide Ruggeri, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Giovanni Montemauri
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Juann Else, 1 Alu Tshakweni. Replacements: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 JF van Heerden, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Cheswill Jooste, 23 Hakeem Kunene.