The daunting Munster record that could haunt the Bulls
Home ground advantage may be a myth to some, but it has been proven that it does hold some sort of merit.
South African franchises have been notorious for being poor overseas travellers. A statistic that dates back to the Super Rugby days.
The Crusaders, the most successful Super Rugby outfit, have only lost twice to South African opposition and once in Christchurch in 24 years.
In 2001, the Cats upset the Crusaders at Trafalgar Park in Nelson by 32-31, and a 14-man Sharks side stunned them in Christchurch in 2014 when a late Lourens Adriaanse try sealed a 30-25 win.
The Sharks also held the Crusaders to a 21-all draw in 2019 when a late score by Mitchell Drummond saved their blushes in the 81st minute of the match.
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The same counts for the European-based United Rugby Championship outfits, whose travels to the Republic resulted in a poor winning ratio on their tours.
The Bulls, to their credit, are much better travellers in the URC compared to the Super Rugby era.
However, the daunting stat that could haunt them is that Munster has never lost at home to a South African outfit.
Munster has won seven from seven in Limerick against South African opposition and they tend to peak at the right time of the season, as they did in their 2022-23 URC title-winning campaign.
The Bulls have only faced Munster once in Limerick and will be fired up for this clash following their Challenge Cup exit at the hands of Edinburgh a week ago.
Munster also beat the Bulls last season at Loftus Versfeld and they have been the best travelling outfit to South Africa with solitary wins over the Lions and the Bulls, a draw against the Sharks and two wins over the Stormers, of which the latter was the 2022-23 URC Final.
It will be a mammoth task, but a win for the Bulls could help the Lions, Stormers and Sharks to all push for a top eight spot with three rounds to follow.
Munster’s home results against South African opposition
Munster 41-17 Sharks
Munster 34-18 Stormers
Munster 31-17 Bulls
Munster 33-3 Lions
Munster 34-21 Sharks
Munster 10-3 Stormers
Munster 17-10 Lions
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