Bulls want to make a ‘big statement’ against Castres

When the Bulls play agaisnt Castres Olympique in the Champions Cup on Saturday they will be six weeks without a win in any competition.

Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels has stressed the importance of claiming a victory against the French side to pull them out of their three-game losing streak and restore their hopes of a playoff spot in the competition.

In their last three fixtures the Bulls have lost 20–17 to the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship, 30–21 to Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup and 27–5 to Saracens in the Champions Cup.

They have not won since they beat Connacht 28–14 in the URC in Ireland on 30 November.

Bulls want to get back to winning ways

Wessels said getting a win away at Castres was “obviously massive”.

“We didn’t have great results in the last three games. We want to change that and get good momentum going into the season,” he told media.

“It will be a big statement to make if we can win this game. It will turn things around for us in the Champions Cup.”

He warned however that the Bulls could not underestimate their French opponents.

Castres are not one of the big-name French sides with a reputation that speaks for itself. However, they have won the Top 14 five times, been runners-up three times and also been runners-up in the Challenge Cup twice.

Wessels also highlighted the home support the French team receives at their small Pierre-Fabre Stadium.

Though it only has a capacity of 12,500, sold-out crowds regularly turn up to support the French outfit.

“Most French teams have pride playing at home,” the 23-year-old Springbok said. “They will have a full stadium shouting against us.”

He added that kind of atmosphere isn’t the nicest as a visiting player, and Castres will certainly use the advantage of their home base to full effect.

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Bulls looking at how they ‘slipped up’

That said, the Bulls simply cannot afford to keep losing.

“Castres have a good kicking game and they have big forwards. We want to see if we can get their measurement right with the scrums and mauls.

“I don’t think there is anything else we need to work on. We had some losses that we were not converting into wins. We stood a chance of winning both our previous games, we just slipped up.”

Wessels said for this reason the Bulls were not getting despondent or trying to reinvent the wheel, per se. They were simply trying to understand how they “got into certain situations” and working on getting a win.

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