The Vodacom Bulls will be wary of Ospreys when they take the field at Loftus Versfeld at 15:00 (SA Time) on Saturday, especially after the Welsh outfit surprised the DHL Stormers with a 27-21 victory in Cape Town last week, but they will be hellbent to make up for their first home defeat of the season last week, which saw them drop to fourth place on the table, eight points behind Leinster, seven behind Glasgow, and two behind Munster.
However, with Munster facing the Emirates Lions and Leinster taking on the DHL Stormers in South Africa, the Vodacom Bulls will be hoping that their domestic counterparts do them a favour as they continue to hunt a spot in the top two for a home quarter-final and possibly a home semi-final.
The match could prove to be a humdinger though, as the Pretoria outfit has only won one more match than Ospreys, and although they boast a superior attack with 456 points scored to Ospreys’ 317, the visitors’ defence has been more effective conceding 41 points fewer.
The Ospreys will be looking to maintain their perfect record against South African opposition when they take the field at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld.
So far this season, they have beaten the Emirates Lions in both the Vodacom URC and EPCR Challenge Cup, while there have also been league wins against the Hollywoodbets Sharks and, just last weekend, the DHL Stormers.
That 27-21 bonus point victory over the Stormers in Cape Town sent shockwaves through the competition and gave a huge boost to the Welsh team’s playoff hopes.
Elrigh Louw, who captains the Vodacom Bulls, will notch up his 50th cap in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship while Jannes Kirsten will make his competition debut.
Louw shifts to open-side flank with Cameron Hanekom moving to eight-man duties and Nizaam Carr returning to the matchday fold at blind-side flank. In front of the back row will be the lock duo of Ruan Vermaak and Reinhardt Ludwig with an unchanged front row of Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw.
Scrum-half, Embrose Papier will combine with Chris Smith (fly half) with Johann Goosen serving a three-week ban. Behind the halfbacks will be Kurt-Lee Arendse at left wing with Harold Vorster (inside) and David Kriel (outside) at centre whilst Canan Moodie shifts to right wing. Willie Le Roux will run out at fullback.
Kirsten, who has been sidelined by injury since signing for the herd, will form part of a 5-3 split impact squad which also has the likes of Akker van der Merwe, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Zak Burger, Jaco van der Valt and Devon Williams all on standby for duty as the side chases more points in the race to the final eight.
The Ospreys are six points behind their hosts and a win in the highveld would be their second on tour and a major boost to their playoff ambitions. For the South Africans, a victory would help keep fate in their own hands and director of rugby, Jake White says their focus is on exactly that.
“We still have our destiny in our own hands, we still have three games at home until the end of this campaign. Every game has to be like a final in a competition that is as competitive as this league where everyone is still in it with a chance,”
“There are so many permutations that can happen and while we can control winning at Loftus and still have a chance of getting the final game, then we still have our destiny in our own control and that is important.”
On Jannes Kirsten making his long-awaited debut, White remarked: “He is one of those guys who has won the European Cup and the English Premiership and there aren’t many guys who have done that. So, he brings to the team, at the back end of a competition where it is now like knockout rugby, an incredible amount of knowledge, understanding and calmness,”
“He is another guy who might not be captain but definitely has some leadership qualities to help the youngsters on the field as well. He is a very detailed guy and incredibly bright. I can only think for the youngsters that if he can instil what he knows and what he has learnt then he is already then he will already have had an impact even off the field.”
Gareth Thomas starts at loosehead for the Ospreys, with Sam Parry lining up at hooker, and Rhys Henry completing the front three.
Adam Beard partners Huw Sutton in the second row. Morgan Morse lines up at six, with Justin Tipuric on the other flank and Morgan Morris starting at eight.
Luke Davies starts at scrum half, with Jack Walsh partnering him at 10. Keiran Williams lines up at inside centre with Owen Watkin taking up the 13 jersey.
In the back three, Max Nagy starts at full-back, with Keelan Giles on one wing and Luke Morgan on the other to make his 100th appearance for the Ospreys.
Dewi Lake returns from injury to take up a place on the bench.
Coach Toby Booth said: “We are sitting in a situation where we have had South African opposition four times this season and won all four. If someone had told you that at the start, you would take that, wouldn’t you?
“We now have an opportunity this weekend - in a very difficult arena against very difficult opposition - to win five from five. When you come to this country, you know it will be really tough.
“Everyone knows that South African rugby is what it is. Certainly when you are over here, you are reminded of that everywhere you turn, with the angle of questioning you get from local press and how it’s reported.
“It’s a way of life over here and, whatever happens this weekend, we have certainly got some respect and Welsh rugby has got some respect in this part of the world because of the actions of the team and the team have done brilliantly.”
Looking at the challenge presented by Jake White’s Bulls, Booth said: “They are a high-class team with high-class coaching. You can’t underestimate how difficult this is going to be."
“We are up against an extremely good team playing at home with some extra incentive because of how their recent results have gone, there will be the usual altitude sign as you walk out of the tunnel. But you play the game to challenge yourself and we are really looking forward to it."
“For us, it’s all about energy, clarity and effort. We know what we are and we are proud of what we are. We are a team that won’t go away. We have created a bit of a narrative that it can be done and we will look to try and continue.
“We are in the hunt for the play-offs and we just need to make sure we are in with a chance come the last week.”
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw (c), 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Jannes Kirsten, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Jaco van der Valt, 23 Devon Williams.
Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Jack Walsh, 9 Luke Davies, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Morgan Morse, 5 Huw Sutton, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Rhys Henry, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas. Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Ben Warren, 19 James Ratti, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Evardi Boshoff.