Pollard & Co feeling bullish
‘We have nothing to fear against the Hurricanes’
THE BULLS will go for broke with captain Handre Pollard saying they have “nothing to fear” in their Super Rugby quarter-final against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday.
The Springbok pivot said before their departure for New Zealand that they were relishing the experience which is virgin territory for the current crop of Bulls players.
“I mean it is (the) playoffs, we haven’t been in the playoffs in six or seven years, that is a massive motivation for us,” Pollard said.
“This group has never been in a playoff match of sorts, so there is a lot of excitement this week again.
“There is massive excitement for us to go over and of course the Canes are a brilliant side, and it is going to be tough, but we’ve got nothing to fear.”
The Bulls last featured in a playoff match during the 2013 season when they suffered a 26-23 semi-final defeat to the Brumbies at Loftus.
Pollard and his teammates have every reason to feel bullish about their chances, despite playing in hostile climes considering their recent good set of results.
The Bulls’ recent undefeated run against the Blues and Highlanders in New Zealand gave them a shot the in the arm and the momentum they needed to secure a playoff berth. The Pretoria-based team also does not have any problem beating the Hurricanes in their backyard, boasting four victories from nine matches away from home against the Kiwi side.
“Playing in New Zealand is always tough, but luckily we take quite a bit of confidence from the tour we had a few weeks ago,” Pollard said.
“Those couple of draws were gutsy performances from our side, and if we can just stay in the fight for the full 80 minutes, anything can happen. It is playoff rugby, the one mistake at the wrong time or one moment of brilliance at the right time can swing the game your way.”
To add to this Bulls team’s fearlessness, Pollard said they were gleefully looking forward to a bun fight. The class of 2019 has shown no sign of panic – particularly on their tour of Australasia – when they trailed their opponents early on.
“Those things can happen especially away from home against a side like the Hurricanes with all that X factor where they can come out of the blocks firing,” Pollard said.
“But we have the confidence to handle whatever they throw at us and keep fighting. This bunch of guys like the fight, we love the tough matches, and we are looking forward to another one on Saturday.”