Connacht make their first home appearance of the season, and they do not come much bigger than Irish rivals Munster.
The two meet tomorrow evening (7.35pm ) in the Sportsground for this round four fixture with neither side having enjoyed the best start to the 2022/23 URC season.
However, the visitors with just one win from three, have still racked up six points, while Connacht remain the only team without a single point. Those stats do not make good reading - currently last in the table of 16, without a win or draw, and a defensive record that has 63 points scored against them - the highest in the league.
Coaching director Andy Friend needs that to change this weekend, but as always, it will not be easy against a physical Munster outfit. He will be hoping his team can find the fluency in attack of old as they have struggled to find that when on the back foot this season.
To be fair, it was always going to be a tough ask, going away to Ulster and the two South African sides, which included the current URC champions. Add in the loss of Jack Carty with an injury and Bundee Aki - now banned for eight weeks after his third red card - bedding in the new additions, and other absences, which now include Cian Prendergast, Cathal Forde, Dylan Tierny Martin and Sam Illos with the Emerging Ireland side, and it was never going to be easy. And also unavailable this week are Shane Delahunt (shoulder ), Diarmuid Kilgallon (hamstring ), Shane Bolton (chest surgery ), Dominic Robertson McCoy (calf ), Jordan Duggan (hamstring ) and Sean Masterson (Achilles ). However, there are hopes Jack Carty could be fully fit to play his first game of the season, while Caolin Blade has also resumed after his ankle injury.
Returning to the Sportsground for their first fixture will be a huge plus, made all the more exciting with the interprovincial opposition, a full home crowd, and the new synthetic pitch.
It is the first occasion for Connacht to play on the new surface, and Friend is hoping all those factors will galvanise his charges.
"You couldn't hope for a bigger game first at home, a new pitch, and all our supporters," he says."The last three games were not good enough. There has also been positive stuff, but it is about putting together a performance. We are very aware we haven't performed near our best, we are owning that."
Also of concern has been the high penalty count, some "dumb-assed", which Friend says is leading to errors and players going off script. But is is not all negative, he says, players such as Conor Oliver and Mack Hansen were some positives, as well as the return of Jarrad Butler.
"Our scrum has improved, and it was an even battle against the Bulls, so proud of that. David Hawkshaw was good for his first start, John Porch continues to deliver, Mack Hansen showed the brilliance he has, and Josh Murphy has been brilliant - the are just a few names."
Now Connacht prepare for a dog-eat-dog clash - two teams searching for form, which he says, will come down to the team that fronts up and makes the least amount of errors and penalties.
Too many against the Bulls and a poor start contributed to falling behind 21-0 at the break. Connacht struggled against the physicality of the South Africans, who also played on the to edge of offside, but Friend's side did not help itself, finding little fluidity when they did get attacking ball, and failing to secure their possession through first phase.
However, hugely positive was Connacht's never-say-die attitude, helped no doubt by a half-time team talk, and they upped their intensity, aided by the replacements and deserved their two tries from Jack Aungier and David Hawkshaw - a third from Porch denied by a forward pass. It was not enough on the day and a little too late. The Clan will expect better on tomorrow, so will Connacht.
Vodacom Bulls: K Arendse; C Moodie, C Hendricks, D Kriel, S Nkosi; J Goosen, Z Burger; G Steenekamp, J Grobbelaar, F Klopper; W Steenkamp, R Nortje; M Coetzee (c ), M van Staden, E Louw. Replacements: J Wessels, S Matanzima, M Smith, J Swanepoel, R Ludwig; E Papier, C Smith, L Mapoe
Connacht: O McNulty; J Porch, T Farrell, T Daly, M Hansen; D Hawkshaw, K Marmion; D Buckley, D Heffernan, F Bealham; L Fifita, O Dowling; J Murphy, C Oliver, J Butler (p ) Replacements: G Stewart, P Dooley, J Aungier, G Thornbury, S Hurley-Langton, C Reilly, B Ralston, C Booth
