After a stalemate at Newlands on Saturday the Pumas head back to Nelspruit to host the Bulls. A remarkable second-half comeback allowed the Pumas to share the points with Western Province and they now find themselves two points shy of a playoff spot with three matches to go. 

The Bulls go into this one after a comfortable 48-21 win against the Lions on Saturday. They are at the top of the table with 39 points and have only lost twice this season. Covering the handicap has also not been a difficult task for the men in blue who have only failed to cover in three of their 10 matches this season (including their 2 losses).

Although the Pumas put in a spirited performance over the weekend I don’t see them being able to repeat this against a side like the Bulls. The men from Pretoria may have secured themselves a playoff spot but they won’t be slowing things down until they know 100% that they have that home semi-final. The handicap has been set at -13.5 points against the Bulls and they won’t have any problem covering this one. It might stay close in the first half, but like they did against the Lions I expect the visitors to pull away with ease later on.

For tryscorers I like WJ Steenkamp from the Bulls who has now scored in his last two starts for the Bulls at lock. He finds himself on the bench for this match but you can be sure the big man will get involved in the action later on. Likewise I fancy Eddie Fouche to come off the bench and dot down for the visitors. I see the Pumas struggling to get tries up front like they did last week and the reserve flyhalf could work his magic and improve his tally to three tries in four matches. 

Bulls – 13.5 – 1.83
Anytime Tryscorer: WJ Steenkamp – 3.10
Anytime Tryscorer: Eddie Fouche – 4.20