Bulls look to their stronghold with 5 upcoming games at Loftus

The Bulls have had a mixed bag of results in the past couple of months, enduring a four-game losing streak and crashing out of the Champions Cup before securing solid wins in their last two games.

But the Bulls’ dominance in these final matches in Gauteng will give them confidence as they play five of their next six fixtures at home.

71% win record at home since June

The 48–7 win over Stade Français at Loftus and the 35–22 victory over the Lions at Ellis Park will be doing wonders for the side’s confidence as they now enjoy a break before their next United Rugby Championship (URC) local derby against the Stormers in Cape Town on 8 February.

Following this, the Bulls play more URC local derbies against the Sharks, Lions and Stormers, all in Pretoria, before also hosting high-flying and undefeated Leinster for what will be a cracker of a game, and then a struggling but never-to-be-underestimated Zebre.

After Cape Town, their next away game will only be on 5 April when the Bulls travel to Aviron Bayonnais for their Challenge Cup round of 16 tie.

The Bulls have won five of their last seven home games (win percentage 71%) and their reliance on their Pretoria stronghold and its crowd support is no secret.

The current Bulls players would have still been children when the team won the 2009 Super Rugby final against the Chiefs and 2009 Currie Cup final against the Cheetahs, both at Loftus.

Many would have been involved in last year’s URC final loss to Glasgow, but the current squad can draw on the rich history of their home base and will want to make it their own in a trying season.

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Bulls are well-placed to push in the URC

The Bulls sit third on the URC table after their bonus-point win in Johannesburg. They have won six of their eight games and have two games in hand on Leinster and Glasgow above them.

They may not end top of the table after Leinster’s incredible start (10 wins from 10 games and 11-point lead over Glasgow), but a series of home wins in the derbies and over Zebre – and potentially an upset against Leinster – would have pundits very quickly referring to the Bulls as second-favourites to win the whole tournament.