Bulldogs yearn for that right start in season opener

THE Border Bulldogs rugby team is gearing up to open their Currie Cup First Division campaign against the South Western Districts Eagles at the Buffalo City Municipality Stadium tomorrow night.

Their success could hinge on the players’ ability to brush away the off-field drama happening behind the scenes at the union and get back down to business.

The Bulldogs will be confident of improving on their dismal showing in last year’s competition when they failed to win a single match as they finished the season with 14 losses from 14 games, picking up only 11 bonus points, 12 points off the second from bottom Falcons.

Their opening match against the Eagles offers the perfect opportunity to start the Currie Cup with a win, as their last match was a solid 25-19 victory over SWD at Outeniqua Park in George in their final game of the Vodacom Cup.

“The team is very confident. We aren’t thinking at all about the Vodacom Cup loss,” said exSpringbok and current Eagles coach Bevin Fortuin.

“This is a new start, with a new team and it all starts on Friday night.”

A good start in their opening game in front of their home fans will give the Bulldogs a lot of confidence as they tackle the rest of the season.

They will follow up their opening fixture with an away game against the Pumas on July 5, before returning home for a clash against the Griffons on July 20.

If the Bulldogs continue the good form they picked up towards the end of the Vodacom Cup, there is no reason why they couldn’t give the First Division perennial highflyers a run for their money this season.

The Bulldogs had a torrid start to the rugby year when they started the Vodacom Cup with a thumping loss to the Sharks, but they have since picked up their form as they suffered fighting defeats against the EP Kings, Western Province and by only a single point against the Cheetahs.

They then finally broke their duck in the second last game of the Vodacom Cup with a nailbiting 2625 victory over the Boland Kavaliers before closing out their campaign with their good victory over the Eagles.

“The Border

Bulldogs

have

a dangerous team with good players and a top kicker,” said Fortuin.

“Discipline is going to be key in this match.”

Although finishing lowly seventh on the South section log the Bulldogs will have been buoyed by their tight losses to the more established rugby unions of Western Cape and Cheetahs.

“I am positive besides the stumbling blocks and I believe that the team is good enough to start the Currie Cup with a win,” said Fortuin.