It may only be round three of the Investec Champions Cup, but Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann admits that the game against Bristol Bears is very much a make or break affair for their European campaign.
Ackermann announced a strong side that was hampered again by injury - Springbok Canan Moodie misses out because of concussion protocols, while Kurt-Lee Arendse, Marcell Coetzee, Paul de Wet, and Cameron Hanekom are all still on the sidelines.
Ackermann has rotated the loosehead position, swapping Jan-Hendrik Wessels in for Gerhard Steenekamp, while the rest of the pack stays the same. Moodie’s absence means David Kriel moves back to 13 from 12, with Harold Vorster coming into fill the void.
Mornay Smith makes an appearance on the bench in the place of Khutha Mchunu and should provide more solidity in the second half, while Celimpilo Gumede replaces Reinhardt Ludwig on the bench and Stedman Gans, Zak Burger, and Sergeal Petersen make up a rejigged bench backline.
Ackermann said despite the fact that the team is on a six game losing streak, they feel that things are starting to turn. Obviously, as he points out, this was never the plan.
“ No, I mean nobody can foresee the future of where you're going to be after a certain amount of games, and obviously nobody wants a losing streak, so I wasn't hoping for that. So that obviously makes it a bit more difficult.
"If I can use tennis as an example, if you're the No 1 and you're not No 1 anymore, you probably can only go one way and that's down, and that's the challenge. Then everybody will have their opinions, and because the Bulls were so successful and finalists for a couple of years, anything other than winning is not good enough for everybody. So obviously at this stage, we're not good enough at the moment.”
But Ackermann said that the feeling after the narrow loss to the Stormers is a bit different in the changeroom.
“I think it's definitely feeling a bit different now that we've got everybody there in the room, and obviously hopefully we can get consistency in our selection. It doesn't help if you've got Canan for the one week and now he's out again, and you don't have Kurt-Lee back and Cameron - those guys who were probably the stars for the last two years at the Bulls.
But you saw Jeandre Rudolph stepping up and you saw other guys stepping up, so that's where we are.
“It's a different team from what it was in a sense, although people think it's the same squad, but the same squad hasn't played continuously the amount of games that brings you confidence and brings you momentum. So at this stage, I think we're close.
“Hopefully if we can get that going in the next couple of weeks, getting the players back and getting consistency in our selection, we will have a new start and have the equivalent of a new year, or new season.”
YOUR TEAM to face Bristol Bears tomorrow at LOFTUS 😍
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) January 9, 2026
🏆Vodacom Bulls v Bristol Bears | 🗓️10 January 2026 | ⏰15:00
🎟️TICKETS: https://t.co/m0aR7qpPm9 @Vodacom | @ChampionsCup #TheUnbreakableLine pic.twitter.com/xvWZOPx0W1
Bristol have won both their games thus far and will be looking for any points in the final game, while Ackermann’s side knows if they lose at Loftus, the Champions Cup campaign is over with a pool game to spare.
“Tomorrow is the game. If we don't get a result tomorrow, then we'll probably be either out of all the European competitions or we may stand a chance to drop down to the Challenge Cup. Then it will obviously boil down to the last game, but the reality is tomorrow is the decider if we want to progress in the main European competition.”
The match kicks off at 3pm
Vodacom Bulls: Willie le Roux; Sebastian de Klerk, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Stravino Jacobs; Handre Pollard, Embrose Papier; Jeandre Rudolph, Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje (captain), Cobus Wiese, Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Replacements: Akker van der Merwe, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Ruan Vermaak, Celimpilo Gumede, Zak Burger, Stedman Gans, Sergeal Petersen.