Bulls head coach Jake White says he does not talk about revenge. Picture: Alex Davidson/Getty Images
As much as Bulls coach Jake White says they are not out for revenge against Northampton, he and his players have expressed unequivocal intention to get one over the English side when the two clash at Loftus Versfeld in the Champions Cup on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).
The Bulls were cast out of the tournament by Northampton last season, losing 59–22 in the quarter-finals in England.
The Bulls announced a strong team for this game, a far cry from the side in April that saw White defend his selection after leaving several Springbok and frontline starters out.
Wilco Louw, Jan-hendrik Wessels and Deon Slabbert all return as forwards while Elrigh Louw returns as captain after playing all three matches for the Springboks during the Autumn Nations Series in the United Kingdom.
White opted to retain the services of the same backline that played in the 27–5 defeat to the Saracens in their opening match of the tournament. Winger Sebastian de Klerk was the only scorer for the Bulls on the day.
The ‘General’, Willie le Roux, will run at fullback with Canan Moodie and David Kriel at centre. De Klerk and Devon Williams will play on the wing.
Springbok flanker Marco van Staden misses out due to injury.
“I do not talk about revenge and the old days. Rugby is different now,” White said.
“They [Saints] beat us last year, and they beat us fair and square. So what happened last year has now become immaterial, modern rugby players do not feed off the revenge perspective.”
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Earlier in the week, De Klerk said the Bulls were out to give Northampton “the same treatment” after last season’s loss.
“Now we will be playing at Loftus, it will be a completely different game. It wasn’t lekker losing that side so hopefully we can give them the same treatment this side.”
He and prop Gerhard Steenekamp said the weather will likely be better at Loftus, though Storm Darragh was no excuse for their loss in England.
“Northampton are a good, well-rounded side who kicked us out last year. For us, it is just about improving our game and it will be a different game because we will be at home,” Steenekamp said.
“We have to be better than last weekend. We have to get our momentum going.”
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The English outfit are fresh from a convincing 38–8 win over French side Castres Olympique and will aim to extend their lead at the top of Pool 3.
But they have not been consistent this season, and sit eighth on the Premiership table with three wins from seven games.
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