Cape Town – Gauteng is in the midst of a heatwave at the moment, with the temperature in Pretoria forecast above 30 degrees Celsius until next Friday.
Compare that to Glasgow in Scotland, where it won’t be warmer than 14 during the same period, and where there was more than 90% rain forecast in the central port city on Thursday.
And the Bulls were caught in the thick of it during training ahead of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship showdown with the Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium.
“It was rather funny today when we got to the training field, and the heavens decided to open up! It’s just rain and it’s wind … I think many of the guys today badly longed back for South Africa, and thought twice about playing rugby in Europe,” Bulls breakdowns coach Nollis Marais said.
Jake White’s team experienced a similar situation in their match against Irish side Connacht in October last year, where heavy rain and wind contributed to their 34-7 defeat in Galway.
“You could times that by three for today,” Marais said about the Glasgow weather. “If your tackle bags start to fly around on the field, then you know it’s quite interesting …
“That’s why I say many of the guys yearned to be back in Pretoria and the swimming pools this afternoon!
“It’s an important factor. You must win some of the overseas games, and you have to get used to the conditions, and adapt around it. Glasgow play in the same conditions, so we must just make sure that our plan is executed better on the day.
“It changes the situation in your game plan: are you going to play ball-in-hand, or play more of a kicking game?
“I think the weather conditions will determine what way we go on Saturday night. It is not something we are really used to, but we have played overseas a few times now and are getting more familiar with it.”
The Bulls are without Springbok wings Canan Moodie (hamstring) and Sbu Nkosi (concussion), so fellow Bok Kurt-Lee Arendse will have to marshal a new-look back-three combination in fielding those up-and-unders from Glasgow in what is expected to be slippery conditions at Scotstoun.
“Yes, that’s very important. Canan and Sbu are big losses for us, but we have worked so hard with all the players that they are all used to it,” Marais said.
“The effort and the work that has been put in to make every player better in our pre-season … that is a bit of an advantage for us, the fact that we had a pre-season and didn’t just come here directly (after last season).
“The pre-season helped us to develop players to be able to operate in different positions, so the guys who will do duty for us in the back-three this weekend are well prepared.”
IOL Sport