Cape Town - The last time the Bulls faced Exeter Chiefs, they arguably lost the game at the breakdowns, and it is something that they are keen to avoid in Saturday’s return Champions Cup showdown at Loftus Versfeld (7.30pm kick-off).
And they will have a strong reference point to fix their mistakes from the 44-14 defeat last month: referee Mathieu Raynal.
Veteran hooker Bismarck du Plessis bore the brunt of Raynal’s whistle at the breakdowns at Sandy Park, although the former Springbok No 2 wasn’t always at fault and was unlucky to be penalised on certain occasions when going in for the turnover.
Coincidentally, the Frenchman will be the 31st person on the pitch in Pretoria this weekend too, so the Bulls should know exactly what to expect from the man in charge.
“(Avoid conceding breakdown penalties) by learning really quick and by making sure that we adapt really quickly on the field. Our local and overseas refs do have different interpretations, and just like us in this new competition, they have to get synergy amongst each other so that they can get consistency in their calls,” Bulls forwards coach Russell Winter said from Loftus yesterday.
“The breakdown, as you’ve seen… You’ll play one week at home and do one roll for a placement, and then you play overseas and they will pin you.
“We’ve got to make sure we adapt nice and early and pick up those trends in the game, and that is where Ruan (Nortje, the Bulls captain) is fantastic – he is someone who can pick these things up so quickly and relay the message to the team.”
Of course, head coach Jake White – who is currently recovering from a stomach operation – said previously that the strongest possible Bulls side will face Exeter in Pretoria after the “B team” travelled to England, so that should see Johan Grobbelaar donning the No 2 jersey in place of Du Plessis.
While not as streetwise as the old warhorse, Grobbelaar is certainly more agile and will go hard at the breakdowns.
The Bulls hooker will be well supported by specialist fetcher flank Marco van Staden, while fellow loose forwards Cyle Brink and Elrigh Louw are also capable of stealing ball on the ground – and they could make a significant difference after sitting out the Sandy Park encounter.
All of those players are also dynamic ball-carriers, and with Exeter missing their own forceful England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie – who scored a hat-trick against the Bulls, but misses out with an ankle injury this week – the home side must ramp up their physicality even further from last Friday’s 29-14 URC victory over the Dragons in Newport.
“Me as a coach – it’s always fight fire with fire… It’s never any other way. You’ve got to front up on Saturday. Rugby is a collision sport – if you don’t win the collisions, you don’t win the game. And what helps us is the consistency. We train things week in and week out, and if we keep to those and stick to the system, it is there to protect the player,” Winter said.
“As long as we do that, we should do well. The teams that are good are those that can break down the patterns of play and systems that the other team bring to the table. Those are the ones who win the games.
“The intensity is definitely going to be higher, so we are going to have to go up a notch to get a win. If we are really not up physically and mentally on our game, then they might find some cracks.
“And then just our systems: we must make sure we do what we train, and then I think we’ll be okay.”
@AshfakMohamed