Forwards coach Clarke Dermody says Ulster have plans in place to have a crack at the Bulls on Saturday, despite concerns around six injured players for the trip to Pretoria.
The Ulstermen got their first win of the season at Zebre last week, 40-21 in the EPCR Challenge Cup, but they are still without a URC victory. They have drawn twice and lost once in three rounds.
Centre Stuart McCloskey and loose forward Nick Timoney missed the Zebre game with muscle injuries picked up in training. Both are hoped to be fit for Loftus Versfeld.
Winger Zac Ward is in doubt after an ankle injury at the weekend, while locks Ben Donnell, Eli Snyman and Ethan McIlroy will undergo fitness monitoring in the Republic.
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Ten others are unavailable through injury: Eduardo Bello, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, James Hume, Charlie Irvine, Aitzol Arenzana-King, Stewart Moore, Jude Postlethwaite, Callum Reid and Bryn Ward.
“They understand the challenge,” Dermody was quoted by The Irish Times. “We had a show of hands as to who had played there and there were maybe four or five in the room that hadn’t.
“So we’ll make sure that they get a chance to talk to the boys that have played there and what it feels like, because it is different playing at altitude.”
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The Bulls beat the Lions 57-15 in round three and sit third on the log with 11 points, level with the Stormers but ahead on points difference.
In the last clash between Johan Ackermann’s men and Ulster on the Highveld, the Herd won 47-21 in round three of the 2024-25 URC. The Northern Irish outfit beat the Bulls 28-7 in Belfast on 11 October 2025, the most recent meeting.
Ulster will conclude their tour of South Africa against the Stormers in Cape Town next week.
Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
The post Bruised Ulster up for Loftus challenge appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Forwards coach Clarke Dermody says Ulster have plans in place to have a crack at the Bulls on Saturday, despite concerns around six injured players for the trip to Pretoria.
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