Pretoria - The Bulls may be flying high in the United Rugby Championship (URC) at the moment, but they are not getting ahead of themselves.
After wins over Munster and Scarlets, the Pretoria side should have a relatively easy time of it in Saturday’s clash against the Dragons at Loftus Versfeld (7.15pm kick-off), but they know that the Welsh outfit will be desperate to turn their season around.
The Dragons are languishing in second-last spot on the URC log, with just a lone win and draw from 10 matches.
They only had three players involved in the past weekend’s Six Nations defeat to Italy in Cardiff – loose forward Ross Moriarty, lock Will Rowlands and prop Leon Brown came on in the second half – and it is unclear if the Test trio made the trip to South Africa on Wednesday.
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But Bulls forwards coach Russell Winter insists that the Dragons won’t be underestimated. He pointed out some close defeats for the Newport-based side, most notably 7-6 to Leinster and 12-0 to Ulster.
They beat Connacht 35-22 in Ireland, and drew 13-13 with Benetton, but lost their last match 64-3 against Munster in Limerick on March 5, and coach Dean Ryan is under pressure to hold on to his job.
“This is such a funny game at the moment. This is our first year of URC, and we are getting to know the opposition really well. When they travel here, it’s a different story for them,” Winter said this week.
“But the Dragons have been hot and cold – they have put up some really good performances … one against Ulster. They were really good in that game, and they were outstanding against Leinster the week after we played them. Then they slipped up against Munster.
“So, very unpredictable. We do not want to be complacent at all. We are preparing as normal, and we will make sure we are ready. We are not sure of their travelling squad ... It will definitely be a hardened pack who will come at us.”
The Bulls, though, produced arguably their best display of the season in beating the Scarlets 57-12 last weekend, and could have stalwart tighthead prop Mornay Smith back as well.
Smith made his return from a lengthy ankle injury absence in last night’s Currie Cup game against the Lions at Ellis Park.
Meanwhile, Winter added that there will be more signings over the next few months after the Bulls announced that former Lions lock Ruan Vermaak will join them from July 1 on a three-year deal.
The 23-year-old former SA Under-20 player featured for the Johannesburg side up until 2020, and then joined Japanese club NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes, where ex-Lions mentor Johan Ackermann is the head coach.
Winter said that Vermaak is also able to operate as a loose forward, but with rumours abounding that second-rowers such as Walt Steenkamp, Janko Swanepoel and Sintu Manjezi could be leaving Loftus for overseas teams at the end of the season, he is likely to play at lock primarily.
“We have been watching him and his progression over the last couple of years. He was an outstanding player at the Lions, and we genuinely think he will be an asset to our squad,” Winter said.
“I think you would (expect more signings). I think you’re asking a little bit early. Over the next couple of weeks, there might be movement between players.
“We are looking (for props), and if anybody that’s good that becomes available … Front-rowers are really hard to come by these days.”
Kurt-Lee splits the defence open and Walt Steenkamp finishes this absolute peach of a try 💥![CDATA[]]>🔥#TrueToTheBlue @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/5nScjLnVD9
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) March 15, 2022
The Bulls will also have veteran hooker Bismarck du Plessis available for selection against the Dragons. The former Bok front-rower received a three-match ban this week for lifting Munster No 8 Alex Kendellen and dropping him over his shoulder in the 70th minute of the 29-24 victory at Loftus Versfeld on March 12.
Du Plessis has not featured since while he awaited the outcome of his disciplinary hearing, and missed out on the Currie Cup match against the Sharks and the Scarlets URC game.
He also sat out last night’s Currie Cup encounter against the Lions.