Bulls in need of some skill, faith

The trip to South America was always going to be an uncertain one for the Bulls but it has been made even tougher because of their precarious log position.

The trip to South America was always going to be an uncertain one for the Bulls but it has been made even tougher because of their precarious log position.

Published Jul 2, 2016

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The trip to South America was always going to be an uncertain one for the Bulls but it has been made even tougher and riddled with doubt because of the Pretoria-based side's precarious position.

As exciting as it would have been boarding the plane to Buenos Aires, one of three new destinations for Super Rugby this year, to discover and learn about a new place, this Bulls team would be entering uncharted waters needing to discover their true self if they are to have any hope of making the Super Rugby play-offs.

Nothing is guaranteed in the next three weekends for the Bulls but they do know that they'll have to dig deep and play their best rugby and win all three of their remaining fixtures if they are to achieve their objectives planned ahead of the season.

Along the way the Bulls will need some favours in the form of the Lions who face the Sharks in Joburg today, not to mention some favour from the unlikeliest of teams in the Western Force who play against the Stormers.

Losses for the Sharks and Stormers will no doubt strengthen the Bulls' desperate charge for a play-off berth, but Nollis Marais’ men will also have to play their part in doing their best to secure bonus-point wins along the way.

With four points separating the Bulls from the Stormers and three points shy of the Sharks, victory for the Bulls today will see them go into one of the three coveted spots in the South African group.

But the Bulls would have spent little time this week worrying about calculating the mathematics to getting into the play-offs.

It's of utmost importance to Marais how the Bulls play their next 80 minutes - and probably the rest of the competition.

Retreating back into their shell and hoping that the conservative game will bring them glory was debunked by a rampant Lions side four weeks ago, and the only way forward for the Bulls would be to follow the Lions’ blueprint of a high intensity and expansive game, according to Marais.

Tonight the Bulls face a Jaguares team big on set-piece play, starting from their scrum to the rolling maul, but they have struggled to adapt to the running game, which is less reliant on the set-piece.

While Marais will be looking to exploit the Jaguares’ weaknesses, which include their lack of discipline, the outcome of the match will depend largely on how effective the Bulls are with ball in hand.

“There are certain things that we need to adapt to and get better at, like the intensity and the way we want to play,” Marais said.

“We can’t just maul and think we are going to win the match with mauls the whole time, because when they stop your maul, you have nothing that works for you.”

More than just the brand of rugby the Bulls will need to produce on the field, they will have to play with the belief that they'll still be alive in the competition beyond the three weeks.

The Bulls have only to look into their history to understand the power of belief and that it is sometimes enough to hand teams the Super Rugby trophy as it did to the Bulls themselves in 2007, and it also played a big part in their being crowned champions again in 2009/10.

“We are the underdogs now but we don’t see ourselves like that in the way we want to play. We still believe we can get a qualifying berth,” Marais said. - Saturday Star

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