Stormers forward’s coach Russell Winter believes the Bulls will provide precisely the right test for the team in the last Pool match of Super Rugby on Saturday to prepare them for the play-offs.
That kind of largesse against the Chiefs or Hurricanes‚ or even the struggling Bulls‚ will be punished. “We lost three lineouts [against the Sunwolves]‚ which is unacceptable at this stage of the season‚” Winter said.
“I don’t want to blame individuals‚ but we have identified the problem and without giving too much away‚ we will address it. “We tried to keep the ball alive against the Sunwolves but too many times we forced the pass when it wasn’t on.
"We don’t want to move away from the style we want to play. We are the fourth highest try-scoring team in the tournament. “We want to play an exciting brand but we were our own worst enemies at times by trying to throw a pass when it wasn’t on because it was careless.”
The beleaguered Bulls will be under pressure to put the season behind them with a stirring performance. Winter expects that the Stormers can expect a tough challenge despite the fact that the Bulls have lost 10 matches this season.
“Our forwards will be challenged differently this week and we know that it’s going to be difficult at Loftus‚” Winter said.
“It’s the Bulls’ last home game of the season. It will be a typical old derby and we expect nothing less than a dogfight.
“That’s what we want as well‚ so we can prepare properly for the quarterfinal and make sure we put all the touches together so we are ready for the play-offs.
"There is no team better than the Bulls for that. When they are on‚ they can beat any team in this tournament.
“This whole season has been a case of changing the way we play by scoring more tries and we won’t move away from that philosophy now.
“But at the same time the pack has to be dominant to enable us to win competitions. The Bulls pack will test us up there and that is good for us.”
Centre Juan de Jongh and loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe will be available for selection for Saturday.
De Jongh is back in training after recovering from concussion sustained against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and Notshe has recovered from a knee injury.
Centre Huw Jones (hamstring)‚ scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage (calf)‚ fullback SP Marais (knee)‚ centre Shaun Treeby (ribs)‚ looseforward Kobus van Dyk (knee) and props Oli Kebble (groin) and Ali Vermaak (calf) have been ruled out of the clash in Pretoria. They are all on track to be available for the Super Rugby quarterfinal at Newlands the following week.
- TimesLIVE
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