COACH Jake White’s Bulls will fly the South African flag in Europe this weekend, when they face Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup quarterfinal in the Scottish capital on Saturday at 1.30pm.
With the rest of the SA teams knocked out, including the defending champion Sharks, the Bulls will go all-out to reach the final four.
The manne from Pretoria are coming off four successive victories in the United Rugby Championship and Challenge Cup – where they beat Bayonne 32-22 in France in the Round of 16 last weekend. This, combined with the fact that they have fared much better than the hosts the URC this season with 10 victories in their 14 matches to date to only six by Edinburgh, they will enter the clash with confidence.
Fuelling their motivation, the Bulls pulled off a 22-16 victory against Edinburgh in Pretoria in their opening URC game this season, while they have shown on a few occasions that they have what it takes to win abroad.
Captain Marcell Coetzee and his brasse, however, will brace themselves for a challenging encounter against the Scots, who are fresh off two victories against the Dragons and Lions respectively and who have only suffered two defeats at home across both competitions this season.
Wales’ Ospreys host France’s Lyon at 6.30pm on Saturday, Ireland’s Connacht welcome France’s Racing 92 at 9pm, while English teams Bath and Gloucester lock horns at 6.30pm on Sunday in the other quarters.