After just two rounds of Super Rugby action the Bulls find themselves in unfamiliar territory hovering just above the foot of the table and without a win from their two home games.
Tomorrow, the Bulls face the Sharks in what is expected to be another epic battle at Loftus Versfeld with both teams facing their own demons in getting their campaigns back on track after an indifferent start to the season.
The Sharks will have their tails up after their win against the Lions last weekend and will undoubtedly be on the hunt for another victory, especially with the Bulls looking so vulnerable at home.
But there is a danger in facing a team that has their backs against the wall and playing more out of desperation than anything else.
That is where the Bulls are at the moment.
They have been backed into a corner by their two consecutive home defeats and with performances that have not been witnessed at Loftus since 2008.
The only way out for the Bulls will be through a spirited performance befitting of a franchise who have been crowned Super Rugby champions three times and of the talent and Springboks that make up their team.
So the pressure was always going to be there for the Bulls to do well in this year’s campaign and it is with a positive attitude that Pierre Spies laughed off suggestions of added pressure on his team and said that tomorrow’s encounter would be the perfect stage for his team to “stand up and get their campaign on a roll”.
“That (pressure) is the nature of the game. People are passionate about rugby in South Africa and also in Pretoria,” Spies said at yesterday’s team announcement.
“We play the game not because we are just enjoying but we want to win. We are grafting it out to get that victory. We came close last week but now we have to bounce back. It is a good situation to be in, it is good for the team to glue together and stand up as a unit. This is what we are focussing on for the weekend. We want to stand up and get our campaign on the roll and come Saturday it is the perfect opportunity.”
And true to form Bulls coach Frans Ludeke is showing no signs of panic and has preferred to keep almost the same starting line-up that which lost to the Hurricanes last weekend.
There is a change at scrumhalf where Rudy Paige will be making his first start in Super Rugby for the Bulls in place of Piet van Zyl while Ludeke resisted in starting with returning Springbok prop Marcel van der Merwe, who will come off the bench.
Jacques-Louis Potgieter pulled out of the match 23 yesterday morning after suffering a thigh injury and has been replaced by Tian Schoeman while Travis Ismaiel is also on the bench. - The Star