Both the Bulls and Lions will have everything to play for on Saturday when they meet in what is billed to be a thrilling United Rugby Championship (URC) Jukskei derby in Pretoria – the only match of the weekend.
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SA Shield holders, the Bulls need a victory to build a cushion between themselves and the fourth-placed Sharks.
Surprise victory
The men from Pretoria are in third place on the table with 35 points, one ahead of the Durbanites on 34.
The Bulls would also be keen to reduce the gap between themselves and the second-placed Glasgow Warriors (42 points) to stay within striking distance of finishing the pool stages in the top two.
Leinster are currently in in first place with 11 wins in as many games and a comfortable 52 points.
The Johannesburgers, in turn, are in 12th position with 23 points – trailing the eighth-placed Scarlets by four points, but with two games in hand – meaning a surprise victory at Loftus Versfeld could give them a handy nudge up the table.
The Bulls will be desperate to make up for their first home defeat of the season against the Sharks last week as they face an encouraging home stretch of six home games and only two away fixtures.
Apart from looking to strengthen their position on the log, the hosts will also be wary of the threat the Lions pose after the men from Joburg beat the Stormers at Ellis Park last week, despite the Capetonians entering the match as favourites.
The Bulls will also be motivated to come away with a win in their quest to retain the SA Shield, which they snatched from the Stormers last season.
Victory at Loftus will see the hosts pass the Sharks on the SA Shield log.
The Lions’ only home defeat this season was against the Bulls a month ago, and their determination will be fuelled by last week’s upset against the Stormers, which would see them register back-to-back victories after suffering four consecutive defeats before last week.
Zooming in on the teams’ performances this season, the Bulls boast a much better attack with 12 more tries scored for a total of 36 in their 10 matches to the Lions’ 24 tries in nine encounters, but it’s more even when it comes to tries leaked, with the hosts on 25 and the visitors on 27.
Prediction
Bulls to win by 5 points
Teams
Bulls
15 Devon Williams, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 David Kriel, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Willie le Roux, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Mpilo Gumede, 7 Reinhardt Ludwig (captain), 6 Marco van Staden, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Keagan Johannes, 23 Sergeal Petersen
Lions
15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Sibabalo Qoma, 21 Renzo du Plessis, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Manuel Rass
Match information
Date: Saturday, 22 February
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Time: 14:00
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron
TV: SuperSport
Who will claim Jukskei derby bragging rights?
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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/united-rugby-championship/urc-gauteng-bragging-rights-on-the-line-in-pretoria/
