Both the Vodacom Bulls and Emirates Lions will have everything to play for on Saturday when they meet in what is billed to be a thrilling Vodacom United Rugby Championship Jukskei derby in Pretoria – the only match of the weekend.

SA Shield holders, the Vodacom Bulls need a victory to build a cushion between themselves and the fourth-placed Hollywoodbets Sharks. The men from Pretoria are in third place on the table with 35 points, one ahead of the Durbanites on 34.

The Vodacom Bulls would also be keen to reduce the gap between themselves and the second-placed Glasgow Warriors (42 points) to stay within striking distance of finishing the pool stages in the top two. Leinster are currently in in first place with 11 wins in as many games and a comfortable 52 points.

The Johannesburgers, in turn, are in 12^th position with 23 points – trailing the eighth-placed Scarlets by four points, but with two games in hand – meaning a surprise victory at Loftus Versfeld could give them a handy nudge up the table.

The Vodacom Bulls will be desperate to make up for their first home defeat of the season against the Hollywoodbets Sharks last week as they face an encouraging home stretch of six home games and only two away fixtures.

Apart from looking to strengthen their position on the log, the hosts will also be wary of the threat the Emirates Lions pose after the men from Joburg beat the DHL Stormers at Emirates Airline Park last week, despite the Capetonians entering the match as favourites.

The Vodacom Bulls will also be motivated to come away with a win in their quest to retain the SA Shield, which they snatched from the DHL Stormers last season. Victory at Loftus will see the hosts pass the Hollywoodbets Sharks on the SA Shield log.

The Emirates Lions’ only home defeat this season was against the Vodacom Bulls a month ago, and their determination will be fuelled by last week’s upset against the DHL Stormers, which would see them register back-to-back victories after suffering four consecutive defeats before last week.

Zooming in on the teams’ performances this season, the Vodacom Bulls boast a much better attack with 12 more tries scored for a total of 36 in their 10 matches to the Emirates Lions’ 24 tries in nine encounters, but it’s more even when it comes to tries leaked, with the hosts on 25 and the visitors on 27.

Match Information:

Vodacom Bulls v Emirates Lions

Date: Saturday, 22 February

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

SA Time: 14h00

Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron

TV: SuperSport