Vodacom Bulls v Crusaders Preview

The most successful South African and New Zealand Vodacom Super Rugby franchises square off in the final match of the weekend when the Vodacom Bulls host the Crusaders at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon.

The Crusaders have won seven Vodacom Super Rugby titles – the most by any team – and the Vodacom Bulls have won three, level with the Blues. The Brumbies (twice) and Reds (once) are the only other teams that have tasted victory in this tough competition.

The Vodacom Bulls have the second best home record out of any South African franchise against the Crusaders, having won six from 10 of these games. The Toyota Cheetahs have only played the Crusaders three times in Bloemfontein since the Cats split before the 2006-season, and won twice.

Against The Sharks in Durban, the team from Canterbury have won four from six, they’ve won five from nine against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town and two from three against the MTN Lions (since 2006).

After last weekend’s defeat in Cape Town, the Vodacom Bulls know they need a positive result this weekend if they don’t want to fall out of the top six on the overall log. Last year the team from Pretoria didn’t even bother the scorers against the Crusaders when they lost 27-0 in Timaru.

“This is a very important one for us. A win would sustain momentum and our hard work, but a defeat could see us on the wrong side of the log. They are a team full of World Cup winning All Blacks, so we will have to be at our very best,” said Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke.

Head to head (since 1998)

Vodacom Bulls v Crusaders

Date: 7 April

SA Time: 17:05

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

Assistant referees: Lesego Legoete (South Africa), Tiaan Jonker (South Africa)

Television match official: Gerrie Coetzee (South Africa)