Bulls need to rebuild Loftus' reputation, says Cobus Wiese

"Altitude. 1350m. It matters."

So reads the sign above the players' tunnel at Loftus Versveld. The Bulls' home ground earned the 'Fortress Loftus' moniker over the years given how difficult it was for visitors to win there, in part because of the stamina-sucking altitude.

However, the Pretoria franchise has lost three games at home in recent times. The Bulls were favourites in their Currie Cup semifinal against the Sharks late last year, but ultimately came up short. Then Northampton Saints upset them at home to effectively end their Champions Cup campaign in December. Finally, the Sharks ground out another United Rugby Championship win this month.

Speaking to the press this week, Wiese understands the assignment when running out at Loftus.

"I expect a lot of people hope to see Loftus jam-packed," the towering lock told the press this week."For us as a team, it's important to rebuild Loftus' reputation. I think we may have let Loftus down a bit in the last few weeks,"

"It was a good win last weekend, but I feel that teams must feel intimidated when they come to Loftus.

"It's our duty not only to play well but to bring that extra little bit at home. It's not that we're not giving our best, but for home games, teams must really know that we are up for it.

"It's not about the personal competition. It's not Wilco [Louw] against Frans [Malherbe]; it's us against the Stormers. We will focus on going into the match as a team and working hard for each other."

However, it's certainly not all doom and gloom. The Bulls are sitting pretty in third on the URC table and have three home games in March to put some shine back on their Loftus record.

The Bulls first host the Stormers this weekend, then have a two-week break before facing perennial table-toppers Leinster. Italian outfit Zebre then travel to the Republic.

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