The Bulls have had a good look at what went wrong in defence against Leinster, and will try to fix things in their Champions Cup last-16 clash against Lyon.
That was the word from inside centre Harold Vorster yesterday ahead of Saturday’s showdown at Loftus Versfeld (1.30pm kick-off).
The high-riding Bulls, who were on a six-match winning streak, were brought back down to earth with a bump by the powerful Leinster outfit in Dublin last week.
Although the 47-14 scoreline wasn’t a true reflection of the game – with the Bulls having led 14-12 at half-time and wasted a number of attacking opportunities – the Irish giants dished out a lesson in ruthlessness with ball in hand and a rock-solid defence.
In contrast, the Pretoria side – having started off firing on all cylinders in the first half, where they dominated the scrums and physical exchanges – fell off alarmingly in the second 40 minutes, conceding a few quick tries after half-time to trail 26-14, and they were never able to recover.
Having been defensively strong in the first half, the Bulls started slipping tackles and being passive with their tackling, and it’s something they can’t afford against a powerful Lyon backline.
The French club have some serious ball carriers in Semi Radradra, Thibaut Regard, Ethan Dumortier and Monty Ioane, as well as former Junior Springbok speedster Thaakir Abrahams and Georgian star fullback Davit Niniashvili.
So, someone like Vorster, who started off the bench in Dublin last week, could be an effective tool for the Bulls with his hard, straight running on attack and size on defence.
“I think the guys are still very positive. We learnt a lot out of the Leinster match, and they are a very good team. So, there were a lot of lessons we took out of the game,” the 30-year-old midfielder said yesterday.
“We definitely had a good first half against Leinster. In the second half, there were perhaps a few big tackles missed and things like that, which gave them the opportunity to score two quick tries.
“I think what they did very well was to capitalise from our mistakes. For us to move forward, we have to reset and be just sharper in the second half from what we did against Leinster.
“Lyon are a very good team. We are focusing on what we are doing to get us better, (rather) than to focus on the other team. We must maybe be sharper on attack and work harder to get into our shape.
“It is all about the collective effort from the team (on defence). When a guy goes up hard, he can’t do it alone – you must go with the guys on your inside and outside.
“It’s a collective decision by the team, and it differs from game to game. It’s definitely just a mental switch, but it doesn’t help if it comes from individuals. It must be a collective thing, and we must stick to the plans.
“We watch the clips and do the reviews and everything, so our focus is definitely (to do better on defence).”
The Bulls were also guilty of not protecting their possession against Leinster, with a series of frustrating knock-ons, balls lost in contact or turnovers on the ground.
They need to find a way to build phases and stretch the Lyon defence for Bok stars such as Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie to strike with ball in hand.
“There is definitely a balance. When you talk about offloads, one of our plans is not to force the offload,” Vorster said.
“When you have total control over the ball, then it is a good time to offload – but when you are in contact and don’t have good control over the ball, it is better to recycle it and play from there.”