The Bulls had known long before embarking on their trip to Australasia that their four match tour would be a defining moment in their aspirations of making the play-offs.
After a disappointing start to their tour when they lost a game they should have won against the Blues in Auckland, their fate in the competition will now come down to the result of their upcoming encounter against the Chiefs in Rotorua.
It will be a hard fact for the Bulls to swallow that all of their toil so far this season hinges on the outcome of one match and against a side that has been given away little in the way of defeats and in fact has gathered four points more than the Bulls on the log this season, even though the South African team is one place above them in the standings.
While the Bulls have openly expressed their desperation in getting a positive result in Rotorua to stay alive in the race for the Super Rugby play-offs, the Chiefs are also in a desperate sprint to secure themselves a place in the knockout stage of the competition.
Any slip up by the Bulls could see them fall out of contention for the play-offs, especially if the Stormers manage to beat the Rebels, leaving the Pretoria side with the near impossible task of having to win all their remaining games if they are to stand a chance of making the play-offs.
Bulls captain Pierre Spies is under no illusion on how difficult a task his team face and conceded that they will be faced with an equally desperate Chiefs side.
Spies, though, is confident that the errors and poor execution that cost them dearly last weekend are a thing of the past. “We would have loved to win the game against the Blues but this is the tournament we are playing in, it is a tough one and you need to be spot on every week. All of this sets the table up for a huge challenge against the Chiefs. Both teams are looking for the victory and we’ve had a good training week so far. Both teams are going to battle it out and we hope to get the result,” Spies said.
Even though the Bulls are on an eight match losing streak abroad, they will take much comfort from the knowledge that the Chiefs have only beaten them once in their last six encounters, with their last meeting last year resulting in a 34-34 draw at Loftus Versfeld.
The Chiefs may have emerged 28-22 winners the last time the two teams met on New Zealand soil but the Bulls will also be encouraged by their massive 33-19 win over the Chiefs in 2010. Spies says his team learnt valuable lessons from their defeat by the Blues and they know exactly what to expect from the two-time Super Rugby champions.
“You always learn a lot from a loss and I feel our execution wasn’t there. I think we’ve learnt a lot from that game and the New Zealand teams all have a similar approach at the breakdown and on defence. We’ve done our preparations, we’ve acclimatised better and know what to expect,” Spies concluded. - The Star