'Emotions will be high'
Bulls' director of rugby Jake White is expecting an "emotional encounter" against the Dragons at Loftus Versfeld this weekend.
The players will still be reeling from the news that former team-mate Cornal Hendricks passed away on Wednesday at the age of 37.
Hendricks joined the Bulls in 2019 when he made his comeback to rugby after having previously retired on medical grounds, and White said the "well-liked" Hendricks will be on their minds when they take the field on Saturday.
"Tomorrow will be an emotional encounter for sure because many of our players knew Cornal and others, like Willie (le Roux), were with him from the start of their careers to their international days," White said on Friday.
"Whether we talk about it or try not, I am confident that the emotions will be high tomorrow because he was a player that was well-liked."
The Bulls are likely to end the regular season in second place and therefore have a favourable route in the knockouts, but White is hoping his players will not underestimate the Dragons, despite the fact the Welsh outfit has only one URC win to their name this season.
"This is a game where we want to do well," White said. "It would be naïve of us to think it will be an easy game, and we must make sure we play as well as we can, looking at the coming weeks.
"These types of opponents, sometimes, are the most dangerous because they play knowing they do not need to leave anything in the tank.
"This is one of those games that if you arrive thinking you are going to win, that mindset can come back to bite you."
Plumtree junior glad to have braais back on the menu
Scarlets number eight Taine Plumtree is glad to be back in Durban ahead of his side's match against the Sharks, coached by his dad John Plumtree.
The 25-year-old spent seven years on the South African coast as a child when his father was in his first stint with the Sharks. John Plumtree is now back settled in Durban, and Taine has arrived as part of the visiting brigade from Wales to take them on this weekend.
"It’s been good being able to show the boys around a bit," Taine Plumtree told the Scarlets' official website.
"The hotel is in a place called uMhlanga and that’s where I spent most of the time growing up when we used to live here.
"I loved it. It's on the beach and the people are awesome here. The weather is unbelievable, not just in the summer, but winter too, so it’s a cool lifestyle.
"Mum has moved over now from New Zealand too. She got here about two weeks ago, so it was quite good timing really. I hadn’t seen her since the summer of last year.
"We went out for dinner one night and then we were round to their place for a braai with some of my other family. So it’s been good to be able to spend some time with them."
The Sharks are guaranteed a top-four finish already, but the Scarlets could end up outside the playoffs if they lose in Durban and other results go against them. It makes for a tense affair that has the father and son on restricted speaking terms.
"We’ve actually been quite quiet in terms of this weekend as obviously it’s an important game for both of us," Taine Plumtree said.
"There’s not a tension there, but we are not saying anything. We are just waiting to see what happens on Saturday."
Dobson has one team he wants to avoid in last eight
The Stormers are already guaranteed a playoff place, but still need a win if they are to limit the damage of their trajectory in the playoffs.
The Cape Town side is currently fifth in the standings, and a win of any kind against Cardiff would ensure that is still the case when the regular season concludes.
However, they could end as far down as eighth if they get no points, which would mean a trip to Dublin to face Leinster in the last eight.
There are no easy options when you get to this stage of the competition, and that is evident in the fact that the Stormers have lost to all the teams in the top four this season - though they did pick up wins against the Sharks and the Bulls in the reverse fixtures.
Also, not only have the Stormers lost to Glasgow already this term, it was the Warriors who came out on top in their quarter-final nearly a year ago to end the Stormers' campaign in the knockouts last term.
The Bulls and Sharks, on home turf, would pose a serious threat to the Stormers. However, their boss John Dobson had one team in mind when talking about his side's potential quarter-final and who they would want to avoid.
If the Stormers get a single competition point, they likely will be guaranteed to finish no lower than seventh - unless they got an absolute pounding from Cardiff - which would mean avoiding a trip to Dublin to take on Leinster.
"We absolutely have to get a point out of the game," Dobson said. "Obviously, we want far more, but we talked about it, we don't want to run the risk of finishing eighth.
"The quickest way of making sure we're not finishing eighth is getting the four tries, isn't it? But also we're not going to let the team beat us by more than seven, that's for sure."
