Bulls to hit the ground running

 

Spies made his long-awaited return from injury in the 39-26 victory at Allianz Park, and admitted that it was a relief to finally get back on the pitch after being sidelined for so long.

 

"I am very happy, it is great to be back. It has been a long 18 months and I got back on the field and made a few good hits and rounded it off with a try which I guess was a lucky one.

 

"It was great for us as a Bulls team and we will be going home very happy," he said.

 

The Bulls raced out to a 25-0 lead after 50 minutes, and although Saracens fought back well, they ultimately came up short in a match that saw ten tries scored in the end.

 

Spies came off the bench to score his team's fifth try, and he said that the result has given the Bulls some much-needed confidence ahead of their opening Super Rugby game against the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld.

 

"I’m really happy with the result for the team, as we are on the eve of a big Super Rugby season. We’re very thankful to Saracens for today. They have welcomed us so well to London, and have looked after us since we arrived.”

 

"We are very happy with the result, and I’d like to thank the people of London, all the Saracens fans who came to Allianz Park for making it such a special day – we came to achieve what we set out to," he added.

 

Saracens' South African No.8 Ernst Joubert also got on the scoresheet, and he said that the Bulls had simply been to strong for his side in the end.

 

"We weren’t as sharp as maybe we usually are, and that is a little disappointing, but we mustn’t take any credit away from the Bulls. I thought they played really well, and they really came out the traps today.

 

"We rallied pretty well at the end, but it’s great to see a South African team being so strong – I hope they do well in the upcoming Super XV season," he said.

 

Joubert said that it was great for Saracens to test themselves against a top South African side, and added that they took some valuable lessons from the experience.

 

"We pride ourselves on lifting our intensity for every game. We proved to people in South Africa that despite the result, we are still a pretty strong side even with quite a few players away. We wanted to show that today, and I thought we did. We wanted to play well, and at times we did, but not for as long as we should of.

 

"Personally, it was great to test myself against South African opposition and play against some of my own countrymen. We’re disappointed with the overall result but we can take a lot away from today’s game," he added.