Director of rugby Mark McCall is confident that Saracens can beat the Vodacom Bulls when the teams lock horns for the first time on Saturday in Pretoria.
Three-time winners, Saracens will launch their campaign in the Champions Cup this season with a trip to Loftus Versfeld to take on The Herd.
The Bulls will look to carry the momentum they have been building in the Vodacom URC into the clash, with Jake White’s charges boasting an impressive five victories in seven outings.
The Pretoria outfit have won all three of their home matches so far this season, and will also want to take advantage of the Gauteng heat against their English visitors, who have been playing in vastly different conditions in the Premiership.
However, Saracens have established themselves as one of the top sides in the English top-flight, where the defending champions are currently in fourth place on the standings with five wins in eight matches, and are perennially mentioned among the Champions Cup title favourites.
WATCH: Bok scrumhalf on ‘special’ homecoming
“We’ve come here to Loftus Versfeld to win, that’s for sure,” McCall was quoted by The Citizen.
“At the start of the week, I felt something different in the group. It feels like they [players] are in a different spot than they have been in the last couple of weeks where our performances have been underwhelming, to be honest.
“We touched down here and it felt good on the training field. We just have to go and do it on Saturday against a top-class side, we want to give it a big go,”
“It’s a challenge which usually brings the best out of the group that we have got.
“They are strong in all areas, they have a big pack of forwards, and they have good players in their forwards. They have some incredible pace in the backline, they have experienced players in Willie le Roux and Johan Goosen at flyhalf.”
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images