Bulls, Cheetahs seek first wins
IT MAY come across as a match of redemption for both sides, but today’s encounter between the Cheetahs and Bulls (7.30pm) will just be about two sides trying to kickstart their Super Rugby campaigns.
After less-than-satisfactory outcomeslast weekend, it makes sense that the Cheetahs and Bulls don’t want to be left behind and have to play catch-up rugby later on in the competition.
For the Cheetahs there will be an element of desperation not to concede any more ground, especially at home after their defeat to the Lions last week.
As much as the Cheetahs were leading for most parts against last year’s finalists, they showed some vulnerability. The poor execution and handling that was glaring in last weekend’s match against the Lions may be the result of early season cobwebs but it eventually proved costly for the Cheetahs, who lost a game they shouldn’t have.
The Cheetahs will have to approach tonight’s game with a lot of caution as the Bulls also find themselves in a similar position as the Currie Cup champions.
While the Cheetahs crushed the Bulls in last year’s Currie Cup final at the same venue, it would be naïve of them to expect the Bulls not to put up a better fight this time around.
Cheetahs assistant coach Corniel van Zyl has urged the men in orange and white to be more clinical with their execution, and is also be wary of how different this Bulls team is to the one which went to Bloemfontein to play in the domestic final.
“This is another competition, it a new year and one cannot look back to the Currie Cup final. We may have beaten them in that final but they will come hard at us with only victory in mind. They also lost last week to the Stormers, so it hasn’t been a pleasant week for them, and they will come with everything they have,” said Van Zyl.
Even though the Bulls suffered the same fate as the Cheetahs in losing their first game if the season to the Stormers down in Cape Town last weekend, there is plenty to build on after they showed in the second half of that match how dangerous they can be when their plan comes together.
And that will be the sole intent of the three-time Super Rugby champions, to start and finish off playing their best rugby.
In order for the Bulls to show improvement they will need to place a lot more emphasis on rectifying their porous setpieces, starting from their scrum to their line-out, which were both dominated by the Stormers.
It was the crumbling of their scrums and line-outs that gave the Stormers ascendency in the game and denied the Bulls any good opportunities of attack.
Another area where the Bulls will need to be vigilant on is at the breakdown where they also conceded possession cheaply to the Stormers.
What the Bulls will need to do is use their strength and experience in the set-pieces, dictate the pace of the game, but more importantly be clinical in their execution of their game-plan.
“I think they will be quick out of the blocks, it is the way they play their game and what Franco Smith has brought to them. I think they were good against the Lions last week and every game involving South Africans will be tough. They are a good team and have come far and they will be busy on the day. But we can only control what is within our control,” said Bulls coach Nollis Marais.