The Bulls are extra motivated as they go hunting for a fourth-straight win in the United Rugby Championship when they face the Scarlets in Llanelli on Friday evening.

The Bulls have rotated their squad for the match as they seek to continue their solid start to the season which has already yielded three wins. The Scarlets remain the only Welsh team the Bulls have not managed to beat in Wales and they are eager to set the record straight on Friday.

The Bulls have played in the final of the URC twice now, and on both occasions failed to claim the title. The major plus is that over the past four seasons the Bulls have maintained the core of the squad and they are growing and improving as a collective as the experience rolls in.

While it is still very each in the URC, there is just seems to be a different determination in the team as this was on show last week against the Ospreys in Swansea when they managed to beat the Welsh side 29-19 despite closing out the game with only 13 players on the field, while earlier in the second half they were also short two players.

The Bulls coach, Jake White, told OFM Sport having lost the two finals is certainly a bitter pill to swallow, especially as last seasons against the Glasgow Warriors was played at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. White said that it should motivate the players during the current campaign as they are older, smarter, wiser and tougher.

“I'm smiling, because every time a journo asks me, you have been in two finals, you lost two finals, surely then, if someone was saying that to you, wouldn’t you be mentally stronger? Wouldn't you then get up in the morning and say, if I'm going to hear the whole season, how many finals we have played and how many we lost, then that would motivate you,” said White.

Ruan Nortjé. Photo: Morgan Piek

“That is why I suppose I'm smiling because in sport, the margins are so small. We have come close twice - I have said it many times, we have exceeded our expectations. Our average age of our squad in year one was 23-years-old and that was like almost coaching a junior team.

“We will inevitably get stronger and we will inevitably become one year older. The Grobbelaars, the Steenkamps and the Ruan Nortjes and the guys who have been with me, David Kriel, those guys who have been with me for four years now, they will inevitably become older, smarter, wiser and tougher.

“I have got no doubt that the way that they have got themselves into the playoffs and haven't won must be a motivation factor. You are talking about professional athletes that when you watch golfers, when you see Rory (McIlroy) miss a putt not to win a tournament, how gutted he is even though he has won plenty, plenty of times.

Marco van Staden and David Kriel. Photo: Morgan Piek

“It is exactly like that. We know that we've knocked over the last hurdle to us. We know what that feels like. We know important winning is, we know important bonus points are, we know important tours are, because we've been together as a group.

“If that is the case and you're picking up that there's a different resilience and there's a different look and there's a different determination that you read into this group of players, well then I'm really happy.”

Friday night’s match between the Scarlets and Bulls in Llanelli kicks off at 20:35.

Scarlets – 15 Ioan Nicholas, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Johnny Williams, 12 Eddie James, 11 Blair Murray, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh MacLeod (captain), 6 Max Douglas, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Kemsley Mathias

Replacements – 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Jac Price, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Efan Jones, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Macs Page

Vodacom Bulls – 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Kuyenzeka Xaba, 5 Cobus Wiese, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe (captain), 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels

Replacements – 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 JF van Heerden, 20 Celimpilo Gumede, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Chris Smit, 23 Stedman Gans

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek