Kick-off times for Bulls, Sharks in quarter-final action
Kick-off times for Bulls, Sharks in quarter-final action
From a South African perspective, it’s the Bulls who will be flying the South African flag when it comes to the Champions Cup, with a quarter-final scheduled against the Northampton Saints on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Sharks are on a three-match winning streak in the EPCR Challenge Cup, and will next face Edinburgh at Kings Park as they look to keep their hopes alive of marching all the way to the title. That would also guarantee them a spot in the Champions Cup next season.
Kick-off time for Bulls, Sharks in quarter-finals action
Match information:
Investec Champions Cup quarter-final: Northampton Saints v Vodacom BullsDate: Saturday, 13 April
Venue: Cinch Stadium @ Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton
SA Time: 21h00
Referee: Matthieu Raynal
TV: SuperSport
EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final: Hollywoodbets Sharks v EdinburghDate: Saturday, 13 April
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
SA Time: 13h30
Referee: Matthew Carley
TV: SuperSport
What else you should note:
The Bulls will face a formidable force in the Northampton Saints, who are unbeaten in the competition this season and currently top the Premiership table with 10 victories in their 14 matches.
They also boast a good track record at home, with only one defeat at Franklin’s Gardens this season.
Yet, from the Bulls’ perspective, the Pretoria side should take confidence from the fact that they suffered only one defeat in the competition, while they scored nine tries in one-side clash against Lyon last weekend.
However, this is likely to be a different affair considering wet weather is predicted.
“We had a good training session here in the wet and I said to the guys that they should expect weather like this, where it’s windy and you can’t get out of your half,” the veteran loose forward told reporters.
“And with the boys like Akker [van der Merwe] and Wilco [Louw] who have played up north, they’re all sharing their experiences. I’d love to see tries scored like last week where we ran from our own dead-ball line … but we’re going to have to be a little bit tighter.
“We’ve got plans up our sleeves preparing for both types of games; we’re always adding another string to the bow.”
Meanwhile, the Sharks will be favourites against Edinburgh in what will mark the second time the sides meet in Durban in three weeks after the KwaZulu-Natalians defeated the Scottish outfit 23-13 in the United Rugby Championship at the end of March.
The hosts will also take comfort from the fact that they boast a superior attack having scored 28 tries in their five matches to Edinburgh’s 20.
Given the massive stakes for all four teams, both matches are set to be humdingers, with all South African supporters set to get fully behind both the Sharks and Bulls.