Richie Murphy's Ulstermen will look to bounce back after Round 2's 35-22 defeat against Emirates Lions in Johannesburg.
A losing bonus-point was secured in the match after Corrie Barrett's first try for his province, leaving Ulster with five points after two rounds played.
Ulster showed good moments in the match will rued errors that allowed the Lions to put pressure on and get into dangerous territory.
Murphy highlighted the importance of the fixture for experience, with some of Ulster's young players, such as James McNabney and James McCormick, getting minutes in a difficult match at altitude and high temperature.
The Opposition
The Bulls kicked off their season with a tight 22-16 victory at home against Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld.
With South African teams competing in the Currie Cup, all four clubs played their Round 1 matches last weekend.
Last year's URC finalists showed the depth of their talent against the Scots, winning despite missing some of their important Springbok international players such as Kurt-Lee Arendse and Ruan Nortje, who were members of the team who won the Rugby Championship after beating Argentina at the weekend.
In a tight contest, tries from Jannes Kirsten, Jaco van der Walt and Canan Moodie with a penalty from Boeta Chamberlain made the difference in the scoreline.
Bulls had also been reduced to 14 men in the second half, so had to dig deep to grind out the win.
Jake White's team are a very physical side who enjoy the confrontation and showed the world this fight when they battled to the URC Final last season, beating Leinster in the semi-finals, before losing to Glasgow Warriors.
Match Details
🏟️ Loftus Versfeld
📅 Saturday 5th October
🕰️ 3pm (UK time)
🏆 BKT United Rugby Championship, Round 3
📺 Premier Sports
Last time out
The Bulls came out on top the last time Ulster visited Loftus Versfield, in a 34-16 victory for the South Africans.
The Pretoria based team put in an impressive performance, scoring tries through former Ulsterman, Marcell Coetzee, Madosh Tambwe, Johan Grobbelaar and Kurt-Lee Arendse.
Chris Smith was accurate from the tee that afternoon, nailing two conversions and two penalties, with Morne Steyn also adding an extra four points from the tee.
From Ulster's perspective, Luke Marshall scored the only try in a disappointing afternoon. Nathan Doak scored the rest of the province's point, with a conversion and three well-hit penalties.
You can read the match report from the game two years ago here.
Players to watch
Canan Moodie:
An exciting back three player who has blistering pace and carries a huge threat for the Bulls. Capped 11 times for the Springboks, at 21 years-old, Moodie, has a huge future in front of him and Ulster will need to be on guard against his elusive runs.
Jaco van der Walt:
After a difficult first season at Bulls last season, van der Walt is getting a shot at nailing down the ten jersey for Jake White's side. The former Edinburgh Rugby fly-half got off to a good start against his former side, scoring a try and hitting a conversion.
David Kriel:
25-year-old Kriel boasts a strong defence, reliable hands, and an excellent ability to break through defences, making him a crucial component of the Vodacom Bulls’ attack. He bagged 11 tries in a stellar 2023/24 season.
Cameron Hanekom:
Cameron Hanekom’s impressive physicality and dynamic play hasn’t gone unnoticed. The 22-year-old starred against Leinsterin last season’s semi-final where his strong ball-carrying, high work rate, and impact at the breakdown proved to be game- changing weapons for his team.