AUDIO: Johan Grobbelaar: 'Bulls' line-out woes will be sorted'
AUDIO: The Bulls face a mammoth task when they come up against three-time Champions Cup winners Saracens at Allianz Park on Saturday.
The Wolf Pack, as Saracens are known, is currently fourth in the Premiership standings, just five points behind log leaders Bristol, and will be tough opponents at their home ground.
One of England’s top locks, Maro Itoje, is one of the most experienced players in the Saracens side. He has also been appointed as Owen Farrell’s successor as captain at the club.
It is not yet clear if Itoje will be in action this weekend, but it is something Jake White, the Director of Rugby at the Bulls, will take heed of, especially as his side had some issues come line-out time last weekend against Connacht.
Yet despite their struggles in sloppy conditions in the last 20 minutes, the herd managed a bonus-point victory in this United Rugby Championship clash.
The Bulls are without their line-out specialists, Springbok Ruan Nortje and Reinhard Ludwig, and the young JF van Heerden had a tough time in the extreme weather conditions.
Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar, coming off three Tests for the Springboks this year, says the youngsters in the side were thrown into the deep end against Connacht.
According to him, their line-out woes will get special attention this week.
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“At the Bulls, we always pride ourselves on a good line-out performance.
“All of us got thrown into the deep end [against Connacht], especially the youngsters with nasty weather, and ugly winds. It was nice and wet with some rain coming down.
“It is something we will look at this week and work on to get a better line-out performance on Saturday,” Grobbelaar explained.
He added that Saracens is a well-balanced team, very physical, and good at the breakdown, while they also have a good setpiece.
“They will have their home-ground advantage.
“For most of us, it will be the first time playing on their pitch, also an artificial one. So we will have to be smart in adjusting in the scrums and the service underfoot.
“They have a lot of experience in the line-outs.
“We will see what their team looks like but we added a few plans and options this week to manage them so I believe we will be ready for Saturday.”
Grobbelaar felt that the Bulls have grown when it comes to traveling, something they struggled with in the past.
They now sport three away wins on tour.
“I would definitely say that we are better prepared and more used to it now.
“It was very new to all of us but after a few seasons, we’ve played enough games on the 4G pitches so it can just improve from here on in.”
