CAPE TOWN – Scoring tries from mauls would sometimes attract derision from fans, but after the Bulls produced three against the Pumas, captain Nizaam Carr noted the importance of being able to do so.
Bulls hooker Joe van Zyl dotted down twice directly from a lineout drive in the first half of the 48-31 victory at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday night, while loosehead prop Gerhard Steenekamp broke from a collapsed maul near the line and forced his way over.
While it would be hoped that the Preparation Series is used to work on new attacking plays, fine-tuning the maul is also a vital part of the pre-season this time around, as the South African teams get ready for the Rainbow Cup against northern hemisphere sides.
“We pride ourselves on setting up our mauls. Our set-piece has to be very strong – I think, going up north, it’s going to be vital for us. We’re using this platform as preparation for the bigger tournaments, but the young boys today did superbly well,” No 6 Carr said in the post-match TV interview.
“We can work on that, and we’ve got the Stormers next week with a nine or 10-day turnaround, so we are looking forward to that. I thought it was an absolutely tough match for us. We had to dig deep, and full credit to the Pumas – they came at us. At times, they did put us under a lot of pressure, but we held close together and said to the leaders, ‘Let’s pull through and keep working hard’.”
Talking about the Stormers, it is sure to be a strange occasion for the born-and-bred Capetonian Carr when the Bulls host John Dobson’s team at Loftus Versfeld on Friday, March 19 (7pm kickoff).
“Look, for me personally, a lot of emotion going into that game! But in the two weeks that we’ve been together now, we’ve worked well. It’s going to be a big, tough one, but luckily we are at Loftus, so it will be a good challenge,” the five-cap Springbok said.
Pumas captain Pieter Jansen van Vuuren, meanwhile, bemoaned his team’s lack of discipline. The home side were penalised heavily at the breakdowns by referee Rasta Rasivhenge, and made a number of defensive lapses as well.
“Different day, same level for us – disappointing. Poor discipline… it’s unforced, silly offsides, laziness – not rolling away. So, that really cost us,” the No 5 lock said.
“(Good attacking play) can only get you so far. You reach a point where you have to start playing winning rugby, start playing in the right territory. Take your kickoffs, keep your ball when you have it, when you are under the pump. So ja, very disappointing.”
IOL Sport