The Bulls may be sitting pretty among the top teams in this year’s Super Rugby competition but coach Frans Ludeke emphasized the desperation that will accompany them on their four- match tour in their bid to secure themselves a place in the play-offs.
The Bulls left South Africa for their tour of New Zealand and Australia where they will play against the Blues, Chiefs, Brumbies and Rebels in what will be a make-or-break trip for their title aspirations. With his team currently occupying sixth spot on the combined Super Rugby log and second on the South African conference, Ludeke says his team are desperate to close out the business end of the competition on a high and it will all start with their game against the Blues in Auckland on Saturday.
Having not won a single game away from home last season and not having had a successful tour in a number of seasons now, Ludeke says his team now have the experience and belief to make good of a tour that will determine their fate in the competition.
“I think we have sorted ourselves out. We are a much better side and know how to get the results and have shown that this season. We have our experience back, it is a different story and a different tour. We are desperate to stay in the race and the only way to do it is by playing well and being deserved winners at the end of the day,” Ludeke said at Loftus Versfeld yesterday prior to the team’s departure.
Ludeke seems to be banking on the team’s time away from home and the usual distractions to bring them closer together on and off the field in order for them to focus on the job at hand which is trying to win all four of their games on tour.
“This is the business end of the competition and we have the privilege of playing it away from home and that will definitely get the team tighter and there will be a different focus. There won’t be any distractions, we are together on tour and we have embraced that and are using it as a positive. It will be crucial for us to improve every week and to keep getting the right results.”
While the bigger picture for the Bulls will be to ensure that they can secure themselves a home semi-final berth – as has been the case in their three triumphs in the competition – Ludeke is cautious about putting a figure on the number of points they want from the tour and stuck to his mantra of not looking beyond this weekend’s opposition.
After a week’s rest as the Bulls enjoyed a bye last weekend, the three time Super Rugby champions left home with a clean bill of health with Ludeke unlikely to stray away from the team that beat the Lions a fortnight ago.
Bulls touring squad
Jesse Kriel, Bjorn Basson, JJ Engelbrecht, Travis Ismaiel, Jan Serfontein, Burger Odendaal, Handré Pollard, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Rudy Paige, Francois Hougaard, Andre Warner, Arno Botha, Jacques du Plessis, Pierre Spies, Deon Stegmann, Lappies Labuschagne, Victor Matfield, Grant Hattingh, Flip van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Marcel van der Merwe, Trevor Nyakane, Dean Greyling, Morné Mellett, Adriaan Strauss, Callie Visagie, Jaco Visagie. - The Star