The Bulls are on a torrid run, but there were signs of improvement in their 13-8 defeat by the Stormers in Cape Town this past weekend, but the Bears will present another mighty challenge.
“We were in that game (against the Stormers) for a full 80 minutes,” captain Ruan Nortje said. “It came down to small margins, a drop goal or penalty that wins or loses you the match. We know the quality we have, and with that quality we can be much better than we’ve been the last few weeks.”
Nortje knows that the Bears have quality all over the pitch and is expecting a tense battle up front.
“They’ve got forwards who play like backs, so we’ll have to be ready for anything,” he said. “Altitude won’t bother them much, but we must make sure we manage our own pack and keep them fresh to put Bristol under pressure.”
Nortje insists that despite the loss this past weekend, the Bulls are on the up and with the changes they have made to the coaching team, such as the arrival of new attack coach Neil de Bruin, they will come right.
“We’ve struggled to find continuity, but January is about settling down and finding our feet. Winning changes everything overnight, so we just need that one result to get momentum,” Nortje said.
“He’s (De Bruin) already made a big impact in a week and a half. We’re slowly building into a system with him, and we’ve got outside backs who can be dangerous. It’s exciting to see where our attack can go.”
