Ruan Nortje expects bruising Champions Cup test against free-running Bristol Bears

The Bulls are bracing for an onslaught from the in-form Bristol Bears’ dynamic and mobile forward pack, with skipper Ruan Nortje warning of the danger of tiring themselves out chasing shadows in Saturday’s Champions Cup clash at Loftus.  

“Bristol have unbelievable quality, so we will have to be much better with our finishing. They play a very expansive game, they run from everywhere on the field, and they’ve got very fit forwards who can almost operate as backs,” Nortje warned at an online media conference on Tuesday afternoon. 

“The altitude won’t be such a big factor for them because they’re such a mobile pack, so we have to be prepared for anything. It will be an unbelievably big challenge for us because they’re in a relatively  good place. They are playing good rugby for the past few months.” 

The Bears have won their past six matches, the mirror opposite of the struggling Bulls’ recent form, including a 61-12 mauling of French outfit Pau in the premier European competition. They are fourth in the Premiership.

The Bulls lost their opening Champions Cup matches against defending champions Bordeaux and Northampton, and are still hurting from the weekend’s narrow United Rugby Championship (URC) loss against the Stormers.

Yet Johan Ackermann’s wounded side is not out of the Champions Cup playoff picture, and a win in front of the fans on Saturday, with one more group game against Pau to go, could put a different slant on their season.

Nortje feels it will be important not to get sucked into the Bears’ expansive style of play.

“For us it’s going to be about not killing ourselves, not running ourselves off the park,” he said. “Obviously, at altitude we are going to have to make sure we take care of our own forward pack and still put them under pressure in that way and also get them tired. But that, for us, is all about our drivers who will manage that for us and keep the forwards fresh for when we have the opportunity to put them under pressure.  

“The set piece – scrums, lineouts – is definitely an area where it’s going to be a big battle for who can get ascendancy and some go-forward, and get good quality ball for the backs to attack from.”

Springbok star Kurtlee Arendse could add a different dimension to the Bulls attack should he be included in the squad after observing concussion protocols, but fellow Bulls and Bok backline ace Canan Moodie could miss out after picking up a head knock against the Stromers.  

Saturday’s Champions Cup round three clash at Loftus Versfeld kicks off at 3pm.