Botha’s Bulls are a highly motivated team

THE BLUE Bulls are not fazed by the Free State Cheetahs impressive unbeaten record this season and captain Arno Botha, pictured, says they are driven by an inner desire to walk in the footsteps of great Bulls teams who have won the Currie Cup.

Even as certain underdogs and with a lot stacked against them, Botha is adamant that their only motivation ahead of tomorrow’s Currie Cup final in Bloemfontein is knowing that they have what it takes to beat the Cheetahs.

Botha believes his team can replicate what many Bulls teams in the past have done and end a seven year Currie Cup trophy drought but more importantly for Botha, it is the will to win that makes him believe that they are on the cusp of a historic chapter in the history of the union and their team.

“If you don’t have enough motivation when you are running past the trophy you can win on the day and you know that you can do things that last happened seven years ago. If that doesn’t motivate you, I don’t think there is a lot of things that can motivate you. I won’t say it is desperation because it will make you tense and to be scared will also make you tense. I think it is that will to want to do it, to want to win it and to step in the footsteps of legends. The trophy is a big motivation and you can’t be in the final and try to say or do something different to motivate the guys. The trophy is enough motivation and the will to win and not pressure or desperation,” Botha said yesterday.

Earlier in the season the Bulls had suffered a 43-20 defeat at the claws of the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein but Botha has warned that they are a different and better team now and they take no notice of the 55-17 defeat the Cheetahs inflicted on the Lions last weekend.

“This Saturday we will see two different teams, it can’t be the same teams eight games later. It’s maybe the same players but every guy is a bit more experienced and every guy knows what he needs to do. I think it is going to be good rugby and we don’t see too much into the 55-17 score. That mustn’t be the talk of our week, we must just focus on our things and that’s what we doing.”