Victor Matfield (File)

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The Bulls captain knows all about the highs of rugby, but lately has had to deal with the new lows his side have faced after several years at the crest of world rugby.

However, all is not lost, and while Matfield admits the Bulls are in big trouble in the Vodacom Super Rugby series this year, they might be down but they are definitely not out.

This is why this weekend will be a watershed moment for the Bulls as they face the Force in their final tour game on Saturday. As Matfield knows all too well the margin of error is closing in on the Bulls campaign, and a loss in this game will make it very tough indeed to qualify for the playoffs.

And even if they are good enough to qualify, it would probably mean an away quarter-final, and the prospect of facing any chance away from home, something the Bulls side would not relish.

So while it seems a bit uncommon to talk about watershed moments halfway through the season, this year’s Bulls crop know all too well what happens if they don’t stand up and be counted. Somewhere, somehow Matfield and his troops have to find the class we all know them to have, and show it on foreign fields to kick-start their stuttered campaign.

“ It doesn’t help talking about a big weekend, we are already in trouble in this race and this is why this weekend’s game becomes all the more important to us,” Matfield said.

“Last week against the Reds the intensity was there and we held onto the ball a lot better, but we still gave away one or two easy tries and that was the difference. We were just not good enough on the night.”

Matfield, like coach Frans Ludeke, does a good job of masking the frustration that is in this Bulls team this year. Significantly few things have changed in their set-up, but accuracy has not been their friend this season and by losing that, they have also lost the luck that usually accompanies momentum at this level of competition.

“We’ve spoken about it a lot in the team, and we know very well that when you get a few wins under your belt, then the 50-50 calls tend to go your way and the pressure is relieved. At the moment nothing is going our way and we have to just dig deeper and keep on believing. We still have a chance, its only halfway into the competition,” Matfield explained.

And to keep that chance, the Bulls need to win in Perth on Saturday. It’s that simple.