Bulls pack will be key in URC semifinal against Warriors, says Grobbelaar

Hooker Johann Grobbelaar on Tuesday painted a picture of the Glasgow Warriors as a near-flawless side — a super team, if you will — but the Bulls pack are looking to create their kryptonite.

Even then, the Bulls would have to take all their chances in their United Rugby Championship (URC) semifinal against the log-topping Warriors at Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon, he added.

In a press conference on an online video platform Grobbelaar admitted he couldn’t find faults with the opposition.

“Glasgow are probably one of the most well-balanced teams in the competition, so it’s not going to be an easy challenge,” said Grobbelaar, who is set to earn his 100th cap for the Pretoria franchise at the weekend.

“I think there’s not really a lot of weak points that you can attack them on, so you’re going to have to be on top of your game and then just create momentum, use our pack and hopefully get a dominant set piece, then execute when we get into the 22m [area].”

Grobbelaar will be in the engine room trying to manufacture the kryptonite on the green grass of the Edinburgh stadium, pretty much like they did in their 45-14 quarterfinal romp against Munster at Loftus this past Saturday.

“It’s going to be vital to be clinical and use every opportunity we get.”

Creating a scrum as powerful as the Bulls’ was not something that happened overnight, Grobbelaar pointed out.

“I think it takes not weeks, but months and maybe even seasons to get a good reputation at scrum time, so we can keep on building on that. I think we had a few good scrums the last few weeks, so hopefully we can take it into the semifinal and make it a big weapon for us.”

The Bulls’ 16-21 defeat to the Warriors in their 2024 URC final in Pretoria was on the minds of his teammates, but it wasn’t their point of focus, he said.

“That’s something that is always maybe there in the back of your mind, you can’t forget about it. But I think for this week we’ll put that behind us in the past. We’ll learn from that. I think all of us are very excited, definitely a massive opportunity for us that I hope we can take.”

Given the poor way the Bulls started the competition in 2025 not many people would have picked them to reach the semifinals. But with their turnaround, and with Springboks Kurt-Lee Arendse, Wilco Louw and Ruan Nortje, who won his 150th cap against Munster, leaving at the end of the season, there is a sense that this is the time for this Bulls side to peak.

“I think we’ve been in a privileged position to be able to keep and build such a nice group together over the last few years, and we understand each other, understand how we want to play and we’re just definitely going to miss it.”

The Bulls were scheduled to fly out later on Tuesday.

• The semifinal will be broadcast live by SuperSport on DStv channel 211 from 3.25pm on Saturday.

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