The Vodacom Bulls will remain on a war footing as they go into their final Vodacom United Rugby Championship league match against Italian side Benetton on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld.
The Pretoria side stand on the verge of confirming a top four spot for the tournament, which will underline a remarkable turnaround given at one stage they were on a seven game losing streak and if they beat Benetton they will confirm a home quarterfinal at their fortress.
But it won’t be easy against a Benetton side that is wounded and still hurting from the mauling in Durban last week, although the Italians have only pride to play for.
Saying that, though, the Bulls have pretty much been with their backs to the wall all season since the losing streak and they will approach the Benetton game with confidence given the fact they can finish in the top four - something even their coach Johan Ackermann had previously said was out of the question.
The turn in fortunes, as well as their form, was on display on Saturday as they got the job done and beat Zebre Parma by a large score, getting the five points on offer and moving forward into fourth spot.
The Lions’ loss to Leinster has meant the Bulls are fourth now, and can only be overtaken if they are beaten by Benetton.
And the reason why the Bulls will take this seriously is their complicated history with Benetton, who always seem to rise to the occasion when they play the Pretoria side, and who beat them a few years ago in the Rainbow Cup during Covid.
Their last two meetings include a nailbiting 30-23 win in the 2023/4 season in the quarterfinal and a 17-15 win in Treviso thanks to a last-gasp David Kriel kick. For that reason the Bulls will be taking the game seriously.
There is no other option but to empty the tank, as next week is an off-week with the Investec Champions’ Cup final and there will be time to recover.
The Bulls will also likely select their strongest available side, to start getting momentum going into the playoffs.
“They selected their best possible side against the Sharks, and we expect them to do the same against us,” Ackermann said after the game.
“It’s a team which includes several Italian internationals who enjoyed a great Six Nations campaign.
“I don’t want to exaggerate, but we’re expecting a proper test match against a world-class team.
“We’ll have to prepare as best we can to ensure we deliver a good performance, which will be needed.
“The following week is an off week with the EPCR Finals being played, so the match against Benetton will be good for preparation in terms of building a knock-out mentality.”
Ackermann was happy with the Zebre outing, although he did admit it wasn’t the most impressive of wins for his side, despite the scoreline.
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“First of all, job done. I think that’s the most important,” Ackermann explained.
“It wasn’t always pretty. The game didn’t have a lot of fluency at one stage. There were a few unnecessary penalties, some silly knocks, but over the 80 minutes when we needed to score, we scored, and when we needed to defend, we defended well.
“We just gave away soft errors. Hopefully we tidy up those things because against the teams we’re going to play going forward, they will punish you.”
But their fate is in their own hands now, and Ackermann knows if they can get a full house of points this weekend, they can look forward to a home quarterfinal.