No complacency in the bullring
COETZEE: FORM NOT A FACTOR IN CROSS-JUKSKEI DERBY
Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee claimed that his side would not underestimate the challenge of a fired-up Lions team when the two sides clash in the cross-Jukskei United Rugby Championship (URC) derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions have had a decent season so far, but head into the game off the back of two straight losses in the Challenge Cup and they won’t want to lose a third in a row.
The Bulls will however be favourites, enjoying a strong campaign on all fronts, having picked up eight wins against four losses across all competitions. They are sixth on the URC log and head into the game off two Champions Cup wins that saw them finish second in their pool.
However form doesn’t always count for everything as was shown by the Lions last season when they went into their Bulls derby at Loftus on a poor losing run against South African sides, only to stun the hosts 29-25 in a fantastic game of rugby.
Coetzee vividly remembers that defeat and admits that his side are well aware of the challenge that their Gauteng rivals pose.
“The Lions are a proud side. If there is one thing you don’t want to do, it’s to rile up another South African side,” explained Coetzee.
“We learned that mistake the hard way the last time we played against the Lions. You can’t afford to be complacent in this competition.
“We will give them the necessary respect. We know what they can bring. At the end of the day, it’s about who wants it most on the pitch.”
There have been some thrilling South African derbies already this season, with the Stormers beating the Lions 35-33, Bulls 26-20 and Sharks 16-15, while the Lions beat the Sharks 20-18 and the Bulls thrashed the Sharks 44-10.
So the Bulls v Sharks game at Loftus in early December has been the lone blow-out this season, with all the other SA derbies going down to the wire and fans could be in for another close game this weekend.
“Local derbies are always tough and physical. It’s personal. Playing European teams is one thing, but we in South Africa are proud people.
“We want to go out on the field and give our best, because of the respect we have for each other,” added Coetzee.