The Bulls are out to secure their first away win against Scarlets, come their round 16 United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday (kick-off 8.45pm).
The Bulls are embroiled in a fierce mid-table battle with just three matches left before the play-offs.
Six wins from seven games have allowed the Bulls to climb up to eighth, the final qualifying spot, after a difficult first half of the season.
They are one point ahead of Connacht, with four teams – the Lions, Ulster, Munster, and Cardiff – within three points above them.
Bulls want 4/4 against the Welsh
The Scarlets, in 14th, cannot qualify for the play-offs. Yet they have just as much to play for amid Welsh rugby’s uncertain future and the prospect of one team getting the chop for next season.
The sides meet in Llanelli for the third time after Scarlets won 23-22 last season, scoring the winning try after Johan Grobbelaar received a red card. They also won 37-28 in 2023.
The Bulls convincingly won both their encounters in Pretoria, but the past means little in the current campaign.
Still, the Bulls have won all three previous matches against the other Welsh opposition this season amassing 140 points.
They immediately come from a 47-7 thrashing of the Dragons in Newport. Coach Johan Ackermann said they had to work harder than the scoreline suggested.
Marcell Coetzee, now the fifth-most-capped Bulls captain, said a similar test awaits in Llanelli.
‘Threats all over the park’
Coetzee said the Bulls’ defence would be tested, as Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel’s ‘whole mantra’ is based on attack.
“I’ve worked with him at Ulster…. they have threats all over the park,” he said.
“If you allow them into your half, they will capitalise on that. So we have to nullify the mistakes and maybe watch the discipline because if we give them easy access, they will take those opportunities and that makes them very dangerous.”
The Bulls captain acknowledged the Welsh side’s ability to stay in the fight until the end.
“It was always close in games we played against each other, but they managed to grind it out. They are one of those teams that do not go away.”
After the Scarlets, the Bulls return home to face Italian sides Zebre Parma (16th) and Benetton Rugby (13th). That rounds out what is seen as the easiest run-in to the league phase for a South African team.
A finish in the top four is possible, with the Lions holding that position just three points ahead.
