The last time the Bulls visited Stade Gerland to take on Lyon, it turned into a nightmare outing in early January this year.
They didn’t have director of rugby Jake White with them as he had undergone surgery, they had finished 2022 with three consecutive defeats, and they were facing a Lyon side looking for revenge after losing at Loftus Versfeld a few weeks earlier.
The Bulls had hoped they had turned the corner at the start of this year with wins over the Dragons in Wales and Exeter Chiefs in Pretoria, but they came unstuck, losing 31-7 against Lyon in eastern France.
Despite fielding their strongest possible team that included the likes of Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Johan Goosen, Marco van Staden and veteran Bismarck du Plessis, their handling let them down in freezing conditions, with light snow falling as well.
The Bulls battled to protect their possession at the breakdowns and their scrum went backwards too, while their defence slipped a number of tackles.
But it can be a different situation in Saturday’s Champions Cup encounter at the same Stade Gerland (7.30pm kick-off).
It won’t be a surprise if White decides to rest some, if not all, of his big guns for the trip up north.
He already suggested in the aftermath of last week’s solid 27-16 triumph over Saracens at Loftus that he will have to manage his squad and “find a balance” between staying competitive in the Champions Cup and United Rugby Championship at the same time.
After Lyon, a massive URC clash against the Stormers awaits the Bulls at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, December 23.
There is no doubt that White will want his team to break their duck against John Dobson’s outfit in that competition.
So, surely Bok World Cup winners Arendse, Moodie, Van Staden and Willie le Roux won’t travel to
France, as well as most of the other first-choice players such as Goosen, Embrose Papier, centres David Kriel and Stedman Gans, loose forwards Cameron Hanekom and Elrigh Louw, locks Reinhardt Ludwig and Janko Swanepoel, and the front row of Gerhard Steenekamp, Akker van der Merwe and Wilco Louw.
It would be a similar ploy to that utilised by Dobson last weekend against Leicester Tigers, in order for the Stormers’ big guns to be fresh for this Saturday’s game against defending champions La Rochelle at the Cape Town Stadium.
The Stormers’ back-up players produced an excellent performance and nearly pulled off a miraculous win at Welford Road, going down 35-26 in the end.
So, any match 23 White picks to face Lyon can take inspiration from that Stormers’ performance. And it is not to say that it will be a no-namebrand Bulls side.
The back three of Devon Williams, Sebastian de Klerk and Sergeal Petersen started most of the early-season matches and performed well, while centres such as Cornal Hendricks and Wandisile Simelane have the experience to handle the pressure from a hostile French crowd.
The same goes for Chris Smith and possibly Keagan Johannes as half-backs, while regular captain Marcell Coetzee will be itching to get a start after his two-game suspension, having come off the bench against Saracens.
Other quality operators who could be called on up front include Mornay Smith, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Simphiwe Matanzima, although the Bulls will be a bit short at lock due to the injuries to Ruan Vermaak, Ruan Nortjé and Jacques du Plessis.
Lyon haven’t had a great season. They are languishing in 12th position on the French Top 14 log with just three wins out of nine games, and they lost 36-34 to Bristol in England in their Champions Cup opener last weekend.
They have some top-class players in their squad, such as Semi Radradra, Monty Ioane, Guillaume Marchand, giant lock Romain Taofifenua and South African pair Arno Botha and Thaakir Abrahams.
But if the Bulls’ forwards can secure enough possession, they have the backs to put the Lyon defence under pressure with ball in hand and a smart kicking game.
With the confidence of a superb start to the URC season, where they are third on the log with five wins out of seven, and the victory over Saracens, the Bulls are playing with the necessary confidence, and have a genuine chance of knocking over Lyon...
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