It will not be easy, but the Highlanders have the opportunity to turn their series of close losses into a win in the red hot atmosphere of Pretoria tomorrow morning.
Coach Glenn Moore said the coaching staff had slightly tweaked the team's game plan this week to make allowance for the physical confrontation they were expecting from the Bulls.
‘‘We've made some subtle changes to how we may do things,'' he said from Pretoria.
‘‘It's important for us that we don't try and get into a crashbang-fest with them. Our focus will be on having ball in hand and attacking.
‘‘We know they've generally got a formidable forward pack and that they like to get involved in the physical encounter of the game.
‘‘We also know if you can dominate and start penetrating that they can get a bit frustrated as well.''
The Highlanders have a match winner in left wing Fetu'u Vainikolo who scored a try and made the telling break for a second in the narrow 17-19 loss to the Sharks at Carisbrook last week.
The Highlanders looked dangerous when attacking down the short side, and this tactic could upset the Bulls defence and give the team its second win of the season.
Matt Saunders has added stability on the other wing since coming into the side and James Wilson has added punch at first five-eighth.
Johnny Leota has recovered from the virus that ruled him out of the Sharks game and will form a formidable midfield combination with Niva Ta'auso.
The Highlanders have shown an ability to match all opposition in the set pieces, with the front row of Jamie Mackintosh, Jason Macdonald and Clint Newland playing a dominant role in the scrum.
The key for the Highlanders is to use the ball effectively and not fall into the trap of attempting to match the strong driving play of the Bulls pack.
The Bulls will be without regular captain, Fourie du Preez, because of a hand injury, with Wikus van Heerden expected to inherit the leadership duties.
The Bulls have leaked the most tries (36) and scored the least (16) in the competition while their ill-discipline has also cost them, with nine players spending time in the sin bin.
But those statistics are irrelevant to Moore, who had to change his team because dynamic flanker Adam Thomson has not recovered from the calf muscle strain he suffered in the 17-19 loss to the Sharks in Dunedin last Friday.
Alando Soakai moves into the openside position and captain Craig Newby shifts back to his preferred position at No 6.
The return of No 8 Stephen Setephano from injury will give the Highlanders more punch in the back row with his ability to break the advantage line.
Moore is bracing his team for a particularly hostile reception in Pretoria as it strives to improve its Super 14 standing against the bruised Bulls.
Moore is mindful that the Bulls will be hurting deeply after suffering a 50-22 thumping by the Hurricanes at their beloved Loftus Versfeld last weekend.
The 2007 champion has under-performed on a large scale this season, the heavy loss to the Hurricanes leaving it in 13th place on 10 points after nine rounds.
The Highlanders are one point and two places above them, meaning both sides are scrambling for respectability in the second half of the competition.
Moore knows his team has been done no favours by the Hurricanes, predicting the Bulls will revert to type and present the Highlanders with a particularly tough physical and mental challenge on Sunday morning.
‘‘I've told the guys already that they will be going into a very hostile environment against the Bulls,'' Moore said.
‘‘They might like you afterwards but they certainly don't beforehand.
‘‘The Bulls themselves will be very desperate and we will be up against a team who will be very fired up.
‘‘They are struggling at the moment and coming off the back of quite a thumping against the Hurricanes.''
Moore said the Highlanders had to stay tight as a group and stay composed.
‘‘There's only one way to shut them [crowd] up and that's to play well and try and get on top of them.'' - with NZPA
