With their backs firmly against the wall, the Bulls are going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat and get a few favours along the way to qualify for the Super Rugby play-offs.
The Bulls only have three matches remaining and they will have to win all of them against the Jaguares, Sunwolves and Cheetahs for them to have a chance at playing in the knockout stages of the competition.
Bulls coach Nollis Marais has made a Clarian call to his charges to ‘fight’ until the death and that will start with a tricky and challenging encounter in Buenos Aires this weekend.
Ahead of the Bulls are the log-leading Lions who are all but guaranteed a play-off berth if they can secure a win against the Sharks on Saturday and the Stormers and Sharks who will also be in a battle to stay in contention for play-off berths.
“We are just looking forward and where we want to be. We are not going to go into our shells, we need to fight and the only way to fight is to play with the ball and show people that we are on the road to somewhere.
“For us it is about making sure we win the next three games and for the Stormers and Sharks not to win because we want to claim that play-off position. We are the underdogs now to get into that position but we don’t see ourselves that way with the way we play. We still believe we can get a qualifying berth and we are going to make it difficult for the other sides” said Marais Tuesday.
The fight for the play-offs will have to do without their captain Adriaan Strauss who is being rested after playing all the games so far this season and without some influential players in Jan Serfontein, RG Snyman, Trevor Nyakane, Bjorn Basson, Warrick Gelant and Deon Stegmann all who have succumbed to injury in the last three weeks.
Serfontein, Snyman, Nyakane and Gelant have been ruled out for the remainder of the season which will leave a big void at a crucial time but Marais is hopeful that those players coming in to fill their places will give a good account of themselves and the team.
Bulls flank Lappies Labuschagne is likely to take over the reins of leading the team in Argentina after having done so during last year’s Currie Cup competition
“The injuries we picked up during this break are big for the team and something we could not have foreseen and it is unfortunate but we have to back our squad and that is what we are going to do for the remainder of the season,” Marais said.
Marais says the belief in the squad is stronger than it has been this year and they are convinced that they will play their part in getting themselves to the play-offs while on both knees in the hope that the Stormers and Sharks stumble along the way.
Namibian international Renaldo Bothma and former Junior Springbok prop Nqobisizwe Mxoli have been added to the Bulls travelling squad.
“After the Stormers game everybody was happy about us and said we are on track but we took punishment against the Lions game and everyone wrote us off again.
“We have a belief in where want to go and the players believe in that as well and the attitude of the players in the last two weeks has been great.”
Bulls touring squad: SP Marais, Travis Ismaiel, Jamba Ulengo, Burger Odendaal, Dan Kriel, Jesse Kriel, Dries Swanepoel, Francois Brummer, Tian Schoeman, Rudy Paige, Piet van Zyl, Arno Botha, Lappies Labuschagne, Renaldo Bothma, Roelof Smit, Jannes Kirsten, Marvin Orie, Jason Jenkins, Marcel van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Nqobisizwe Mxoli, Pierre Schoeman, Lizo Gqoboka, Jaco Visagie, Bandise Maku. - The Star