There is a thin line between being pretenders and the real deal in Super Rugby and the Bulls will tonight find themselves on the precipice of crossing that line when they face off against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld.
It was almost two weeks ago that the Bulls made an emphatic statement that they were not in the competition to make up the numbers but how significant their participation in this year’s competition will be can only be determined by how they perform against the Sharks.
Not that the Melbourne Rebels were easy prey and a guaranteed victory for the former three-time champions but they are a far cry from the formidable force that the Durbanites are at the moment.
There is no doubt that Nollis Marais’ men will face their sternest test of the season after failing to make an impression in their first local derby of the season against the Stormers in Cape Town.
What makes this encounter that much more significant is the fact that the Sharks have put up their hands as South Africa’s leading team as they are unbeaten after three matches while the Bulls seek that one monumental victory against a big scalp to give them the springboard to a season of endless possibilities.
It will be a moment of reckoning for each individual in the Bulls team but more importantly it will be a poignant moment for the team collectively as they look to establish Loftus as the fortress of old while continuing their pursuit of the perfect game.
It may be true that the Sharks last won a Super Rugby match in Pretoria four years ago but they will come to the capital with the belief that they are charting a new course of history for their franchise this year after their morale boosting win over the Stormers at Newlands last weekend.
Furthermore, it will be up to the Bulls to show intent and execute their new-look expansive game-plan if they are to reap any rewards from this encounter after the Sharks proved their willingness to be physical and abrasive with ball in hand and on defence in their game against the Stormers.
The Sharks bring with them a battle hardened pack of forwards that are quietly going about their job in perfecting the structured game on the foundations of strong set-piece play but they are also not shy of injecting life into their style of play by bringing their explosive running backs into the fold.
The biggest challenge for the Bulls, who are in the process of trying to re-invent themselves, won’t just be manning up to what the Sharks put on the table but it will also be their mental fortitude to impose their game on the visitors and keep working at it even when the rewards aren’t immediate.
The Bulls are under no illusion of the enormity of the task that faces them tonight and while they may talk a good talk, it will be in their doing that will determine whether they are pretenders or the real deal.
“I think what they bring is that they don’t give you gain line, they are very physical. They will carry the ball up to you and they will try get into space with their forwards. Their forwards dominate you and then they use their backs and that’s something we will try to manipulate the best we can and use our attack against them.
“We are definitely not going to make it easy for them,” said Marais.
Bulls STARTING XV: Warrick Gelant, Jamba Ulengo, Jan Serfontein, Burger Odendaal, Bjorn Basson, Francois Brummer, Rudy Paige, Arno Botha, Jannes Kirsten, Roelof Smit, Grant Hattingh, RG Snyman, Marcel van der Merwe, Adriaan Strauss (captain), Trevor Nyakane; Replacements: Bandise Maku, Lizo Gqoboka, Hencus van Wyk, Jason Jenkins, Nic de Jager, Piet van Zyl, Tian Schoeman, Jesse Kriel.
Sharks STARTING XV: Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen, Paul Jordaan, Andre Esterhuizen, Lwazi Mvovo, Joe Pietersen, Michael Claassens, Daniel du Preez, Philip van der Walt, Marcell Coetzee, Stephan Lewies, Etienne Oosthuizen, Lourens Adriaanse, Kyle Cooper, Tendai Mtawarira (captain); Replacements: Franco Marais, Juan Schoeman, Coenie Oosthuizen, Hyron Andrews, Keegan Daniel, Cobus Reinach, Garth April, Odwa Ndungane – The Star