Match Preview: Bulls look to make statement against Lyon

Match Preview: Bulls look to make statement against Lyon

Bulls will be aiming to make an impression as they debut in the Heineken Champions Cup at home to Lyon on Saturday.

Lyon are back in the Heineken Champions Cup after lifting the EPCR Challenge Cup last season, and travel to Pretoria at the start of just their third campaign in EPCR’s elite competition.

Vodacom Bulls demonstrated their strength in their maiden United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign last season, reaching the final after finishing fourth in the table.

Lyon currently sit sixth in the TOP 14, picking seven wins in their opening 12 games, while Vodacom Bulls’ second season in the URC has seen them win seven from nine, leaving them second as it stands.

The Pool A contest gets underway at 17:30 (UK & Irish time) on Saturday, and there is coverage from SuperSport, beIN SPORTS, BT Sport and FloRugby.



       
       

Key quote:

Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls wing): “Obviously this is a competition you want to play in. We know it’s a very physical competition, but we pride ourselves on being a physical team. We’re really looking forward to it and can’t wait to start it off. We like to be competitive, so we want to play in this competition. I know it’s going to be a massive one. But we have got to focus on ourselves and take it from there.”

Vodacom Bulls

  • Vodacom Bulls fly-half Chris Smith has made the most metres from penalties in the BKT URC this season (1,401).
  • David Kriel, wing for the Vodacom Bulls, has made more metres with ball in hand than any other player in the URC – 525 in total.
  • A cohesive unit in attack, the Vodacom Bulls have made more try assists than any other club in the URC (27).

Lyon

  • Steering Lyon to EPCR Challenge Cup glory last season, Leo Berdeu scored more points than any other player in the competition (66). He also landed more conversions (11) and penalty goals (13) than any other player.
  • Prop Demba Bamba was the most penalised player in last season’s competition, getting pinged 11 times in total.
  • The EPCR Challenge Cup winners have the three players with the highest totals for metres made last season: Davit Niniashvili (534), Clement Laporte (289), and Leo Berdeu (285). These three attacking stars also made the most offloads in the competition, 14, seven, and eight respectively.
  • Back-row Patrick Sobela won a competition-high eight turnovers in the Challenge Cup last season.
       
       

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