Curwin Bosch ready for Loftus kicking duel
Sharks flyhalf to test himself against Bulls playmaker Steyn in Rainbow Cup showdown
Sharks flyhalf Curwin Bosch is looking forward to his head-tohead duel against experienced Bulls playmaker Morne Steyn in a crunch Rainbow Cup showdown tomorrow.
It will be an intriguing battle between pivots as they bid to hand their team an edge in what is expected to be a game of narrow margins at Loftus in Pretoria (kickoff 6:15pm).
The Sharks will be looking to exorcise the ghosts of the Currie Cup final defeat they suffered against the Bulls in January when Bosch was not at his best.
On that day, Bosch’s kicking radar went on the blink and he wants to make amends.
“It is always nice to play against an experienced guy like Morne,” he said.
“Not that anything will change from my viewpoint.
“It will still be important to focus on what I focus on every week, which is to do the basics well and give direction to the team.
“We learnt a lot from the final in January and we know it was a game that could have gone either way,” Bosch said.
“It took the Bulls 100 minutes to score a try against us.
“It was close and it was a game we could have won, so we took a lot from the experience.
“In the past we had never really analysed a final, but we did an in-depth review of that
one and we learnt a lot from it and hope to take those lessons and apply them this weekend.”
“I would say we have about 80% of the team that played in the final playing for us again on Saturday [tomorrow], but we’ve grown a lot.
“You will see we’ve been
given greater freedom to make decisions, and the key to our chances of winning will be for us to make better decisions and then take the opportunities when they come.
“The Bulls are a very good defensive side and we’ve seen that in the two games
they’ve played over the last two weekends.
“So we are going to have to be patient in creating opportunities and then be ready to take those opportunities when they come.”
Bosch said he was finding his rhythm after a break.
“In the first game at the Cape Town Stadium against the Stormers I was a bit rusty as it had been a long time since I had played in a game
“Since then, though, it has started to come together and I thought I made a big improvement against the
Lions last weekend,” he said.
“But it will take a bit of time, both for me and the team.
“As you can see with the game plan, there is a lot of freedom being given to the game drivers, of which of course I am one, so decision-making is very important.
“Balancing when I should run the ball and when I should kick is something I am working on.
“I am looking for the perfect performance in that respect against the Bulls.”
“As a team this game is important for us.
“We are performance driven and we’re building towards the Pro14 later this year and hopefully, beyond that, a place in the Champions Cup,” he said.
“From the perspective of wanting to play against the British and Irish Lions, this is a massive opportunity for us.
“We only play against the Lions every 12 years, so it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I would like to be part of the Bok squad.
“Hopefully, I can put the performances together that will convince the coaches.
“I was part of the Bok alignment camp and, like all the other players, I was told what was expected of me if I want to be a Bok in this series.
“It is now up to me to produce what was asked for and convince the coaches.”
Tomorrow’s other Rainbow Cup clash pits the Lions against the Stormers in Johannesburg at 1.30pm.