Glasgow Warriors are set to face the Bulls at Murrayfield on Saturday in a United Rugby Championship semifinal, with a place in the final at stake.
The Scottish side aims to avoid ending a strong season empty-handed after previous knockout vulnerabilities exposed how quickly a campaign can stall.
Road to the Semifinal
Glasgow built momentum earlier in the season with four bonus-point victories in the Champions Cup pool stage, including wins over Toulouse and Saracens, followed by a victory against the Bulls in the last 16.
However, a home defeat against Toulon ended their European run and triggered a subsequent slump with two URC losses in South Africa against the Lions and the Stormers.
Glasgow wing Kyle Steyn reflected on the challenging period during an interview with the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast.
"Up until then, it had been a really strong season for us. We probably hadn't run into too much trouble," Steyn said.
"Rugby is pretty good at that, it brings you back down to earth pretty quickly. Those three weeks definitely did."
"I was really proud of the fact that the group didn't really overreact.
We knew that it's that old cliche saying, you're never as good as you are when you win and you're never as bad as you are when you lose."
Glasgow recovered by defeating Cardiff and Ulster to secure the top spot in the URC standings.
A quarter-final victory over Connacht last weekend provided preparation for the upcoming semifinal, with a potential final at the national stadium on June 20 on the horizon.
Bulls' Form and Challenge
The Bulls enter the match following a 45-14 victory over Munster in the quarter-finals, marking their seventh consecutive URC win.
The South African team leads the league in points and tries scored, with back-row Jeandre Rudolph leading the turnover charts at 20, and scrum-half Embrose Papier ranking second in the try-scoring charts with 11 touchdowns.
Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann praised the Scottish side following his team's quarter-final victory.
"Glasgow is so clinical," Ackermann said. "They defend very well and don't make it easy for you.
They are an all-round, highly skilled attacking team. That's why we have to be better."
"Glasgow are not the number one side for nothing.
They are one of the best attacking teams, one of the best set-piece teams and one of the best defensive teams."
"We just have to find a way to win."
The match moves from the plastic pitch at Scotstoun to the natural surface of Murrayfield, a change that may favor the scrum power of the Bulls.
The South African side seeks redemption following previous knockout losses to Glasgow, including the URC title decider in Pretoria back in June 2024.
Warriors captain Kyle Steyn, who scored two tries against Connacht, expressed his outlook on the venue change and the upcoming challenge.
"I'm not really too bothered about how they see it," Steyn said. "The challenge is going to be there anyway and it's a semi-final.
We've obviously come up against them twice this season and they've both been really physical, really tight games and we're expecting nothing less."
"We love Scotstoun. If you gave us an opportunity to play there, we'd take it every time.
We also really thrive on the opportunity for rugby in Glasgow to grow and to get more fans into a stadium and to have opportunities like that."
"Now we've got Murrayfield, we're just really excited about that.
We're really hoping that we can do whatever we can to pump the ticket sales and hopefully get Glasgow, Edinburgh, Scottish rugby fans, everybody in there."
