The Bulls may have had a great start to the season, winning five out of six United Rugby Championship games – including three out of four away from home.
But Jake White’s team will know that they will be playing at a higher level when they take on English powerhouses Saracens at the StoneX Stadium in London in Saturday’s Champions Cup clash (7.30pm start).
Centre David Kriel, who has again been one of the most consistent performers this season, fully understands the magnitude of the occasion.
The Bulls have reached two URC finals – going down to the Stormers in 2022 and Glasgow last season – but chasing a first-ever Champions Cup crown is of even greater importance for a team with three Super Rugby titles.
Saracens have a similar record in the Champions Cup, with three trophies, and despite the departure of stalwart Owen Farrell, they still have a host of Test stars to call on, including lock Maro Itoje, England captain and hooker Jamie George, and utility back Elliot Daly – not to mention Springbok scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl.
“Saracens’ name stands for itself. They’ve got a rich history, and they have shown in the last couple of years why they are where they are – one of the best teams in England,” Kriel said from London.
“We are expecting a very tough battle, and one that the whole squad is excited about. It’s one of those games that you want to be a part of, to see where you are in the group, and as an individual player as well.
“Personally, I’m just looking forward to the opportunity to play for Saracens. I don’t have any extra motivation because of some connection or something.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a young boy, and that’s my motivation.”
The Bulls, who lost in the quarter-finals to Northampton in England last season, will hope to compete for the title this time around.
They certainly have the squad to do it – despite Kurt-Lee Arendse’s Japanese sabbatical – with a number of newly-capped Springboks in their midst too.
Kriel is hoping to join them at Test level next year, and showcased his class once more with a brilliant dummy-pass in last week’s URC win over Connacht in Galway before going all the way to score.
But he knows that despite a bonus-point win over Connacht, the Bulls left a number of tries out on the field as well, so their finishing needs to improve this week as they won’t get as many chances against Saracens – even though the Pretoria side beat them 27-16 at Loftus Versfeld last December.
“I just try to do my job to the best of my potential. Luckily, I’m getting my opportunities at the Bulls, so hopefully if I get the call-up to the Springboks, I can do the same,” said the 25-year-old Grey College product.
“A lot can happen in a year’s time in rugby. We’ve got our coaches doing the analysing work, and we as players. But it is a positive that we’ve faced them in the past and beat them last year.
“In the first half (against Connacht), I think we had three tries that we leaked (didn’t finish off).
“It might just come down to composure, knowing that we made the metres that we had to make. So, it’s just to keep hold of the ball, stay in our system and round it off – if it’s two phases later or even 10.
“Saracens are a world-class team: we can’t be sloppy against them. We need to work hard and have a good work-rate. The dummy pass was lucky!”
Meanwhile, Bulls No 8 Mpilo Gumede received a three-match suspension yesterday following his red card for putting his fingers “in the eye area” of Connacht player David Hawkshaw last weekend.
The URC announced yesterday that following a displinary process, “in the Player’s responses to the judicial officer overseeing the disciplinary process (Declan Goodwin), he had accepted that he had committed an act of foul play which warranted a red card.”
Gumede will miss the Saracens match this weekend, as well as the clash against Northampton on December 14 and the Sharks a week later.