Gerhard Steenekamp says the Vodacom Bulls are fired up for a reunion at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday with the team that knocked them out of the Investec Champions Cup last season.
Northampton Saints have made big changes at scrum time in the off-season, with tighthead prop Paul Hill leaving for Edinburgh, former England international lock Courtney Lawes has joined Brive, flanker Lewis Ludlam went to Toulon and Fijian hooker Sam Matavesi moved to Lyon in the Top 14. Despite these big changes, Steenekamp is wary of the defending English Premiership champions pack.
“It’s always great to play against a quality scrum like Northampton’s,” said the Bulls’ Springbok loosehead prop. “We see what they are doing in the English Premiership. We are ready and excited for it.”
The Bulls’ 2023-24 Champions Cup campaign was cut short in April after a 59-22 defeat to Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens in the quarter-finals but Steenekamp believes the Loftus Versfeld factor will be a deciding factor in Saturday’s clash.
“Northampton are a very well-rounded side, they knocked us out last year in the Champions Cup playoffs,” he said. “It’s going to be different this season, we are playing at Loftus.”
Pretoria is a fortress for the Bulls. Their 22-16 defeat against the Glasgow Warriors in last season’s United Rugby Championship final marked their only loss at Loftus in 12 matches across the URC and Champions Cup. In 2024-25, the Bulls unbeaten at home, but their 3-3 record against English opposition in the Champions Cup raises concerns.
“It was an off game last week. I don’t want to talk too much about the weather, it caught us off guard but that is not an excuse,” said Steenekamp.
“We have to be ready and able to play in all conditions, Saracens played good rugby in the bad weather so it has nothing to do with being an English side. We weren’t good enough on the day. For us this match is about securing a spot in the playoffs of the Champions Cup.”
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