Bulls sit with big concern as semis loom

REACTION: The Bulls’ Currie Cup semifinal spot was accompanied by a hefty price.

The Pretoria side might head into the play-offs without the service of scrumhalf Embrose Papier after he sustained a hamstring injury in the Round 14 clash against the Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld.

“He is struggling at the moment, but we will make a call on Monday after the doctor’s report.” Bulls assistant coach Hugo van As told reporters after the match.

“He is a huge part of our team and has been playing well.

“We do have a backup but will have to see on Monday.”

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The Bulls bagged the final Currie Cup play-offs spot despite suffering a 27-31 defeat to the Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The side managed to secure two losing bonus points by scoring four tries and losing with less than seven points.

The Pretoria-based team also went down to 14 men after Elrigh Louw was handed a red card for a dangerous clear-out in the 38th minute.

“It’s not ideal to play with 14 men for 45 minutes, but there was a lot of character and desire from the team to hang in,” Van As said.

“Our primary goal was obviously to win the game, however, we are quite happy with the two losing bonus-point and qualifying for the semifinals.”

Van As has pinpointed the breakdowns as the team’s biggest flaw during the Round 14 encounter and has called for an improvement ahead of the semifinals.

“We have to give credit to the Cheetahs. They did a great job at stopping our mauls.

“But our breakdown was a big concern for us, and we need to fix it before the semifinals.”

He added: “The Cheetahs really came hard at us at the breakdown.

“They disrupted a lot of our plays and that is what we have to get right.

“Semifinals is a different ball game, so we have to be more clinical in the execution of our game plan.”

The Bulls will have a rematch against the Cheetahs when the two sides face each other in the semifinals in Bloemfontein.