Northampton Saints Prepare for High-Altitude Challenge Against Bulls in Champions Cup

Northampton Saints have prepared for the demanding physical conditions of high-altitude play as they travel from the English winter for their upcoming European Champions Cup fixture. Juarno Augustus contributed two tries to Northampton’s victory over Castres last weekend. The Saints are scheduled to face the South African team Bulls in Pretoria. They commenced their Champions Cup campaign with a 38-8 victory against French club Castres last weekend. In contrast, the Bulls suffered a 27-5 defeat to Saracens, yet the Saints recognize the strength of their opponents when playing on home ground. The Bulls’ home venue, Loftus Versfeld Stadium, is situated at an elevation of 1,350 metres. England full-back George Furbank conveyed his anticipation to BBC Radio Northampton, stating, “I don’t think many of us – if any of us – have actually played out there, at altitude, in the heat, so we’re incredibly excited.” Furbank further noted that “Dows (boss Phil Dowson) has made it pretty clear ‘this is not a holiday, boys’ and we’re going out there to do a job.” He added, “You look at their home record, they’re incredibly hard to beat, but we back ourselves and we feel if we put in a performance we can beat them.” Following their match against Castres amidst strong winds, the Saints are now preparing for temperatures reaching up to 35 degrees Celsius in Pretoria. Director of rugby Phil Dowson mentioned that the city has recently been experiencing a heatwave. Dowson elaborated, stating, “It’ll be a different surface (as well), very hard under foot, so that brings issues with calves and feet, and there’s elements from a travel point of view, from a safety point of view.” He further acknowledged, “There’s definitely challenges. It’s just the speed at which you lose your breath (at altitude). At the same time, they’ve (Bulls) been away from home for a period of time, so we’re not going to use that as an excuse. “Yes, there an acclimatisation to it – I’m sure the lads will be laughing about how tired they are but once the game starts we’ve just got to get into it.” It is noted that George Furbank did not participate in Northampton’s initial group stage match. Dowson light-heartedly remarked that his team would be competing at the “southern edge of Europe” against an opposition squad that includes 17 Springboks. However, the Saints previously defeated the Bulls 59-22 in a quarter-final match held at Franklin’s Gardens in April, scoring nine tries during that encounter. Dowson stated that the Bulls aim to be “the most physical side in world club rugby,” but he asserted, “We want to take them on, we don’t want to be sat wondering, we want to get stuck in and find out where we come out.” Furbank considers the Champions Cup to be “definitely a step up,” even when accounting for the caliber of opponents in the Premiership. He commented, “It’s reffed [refereed] differently as well, which is something you’ve got to get used to. We’ll be playing against some double World Cup winners so it’s an exciting challenge.” Furbank further elaborated, “Any South African side is going to pose a big physical threat and they’ve got some incredible ball players and runners as well in their team. They’ll have a full field threat and we’ve got to be ready for that and bring our game as well.” In other news, the Saints have announced that their upcoming home Premiership match against Newcastle Falcons on 28 December has completely sold out.