Bulls go on a 'gold rush'
Brumbies coach Jake White alluded to the breakdown as a key facet and Bulls rival Frans Ludeke agrees.
While set pieces are always vital, the Bulls and Brumbies camps both feel the breakdown may well be where the game could be won or lost when they go head-to-head in their Super Rugby semifinal at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
White suggested earlier this week that his team would be prepared to risk giving away penalties to get an edge, while Ludeke said the breakdown battle could be like a 'gold rush'.
"Quick ball will be worth gold this weekend," Ludeke told this website in an interview, when asked about White's suggestion that the breakdown is an area to target.
"From there [quick ball] you can build momentum and that will give you opportunities to break the line or get into space with your quick men.
"That is where the opportunities come to score tries or get penalties."
Ludeke admitted it is still about the basics, the set pieces to lay a good platform to put on pressure when you get into the right areas.
"However, at the breakdown, you can retain possession to put pressure on in that way," the Bulls mentor added.
This will pit two of the game's specialists – openside flanks Deon Stegmann (Bulls) and George Smith (Brumbies) – against each other in a decisive showdown.
Smith, a Wallaby veteran with well over 100 Test caps and nearly 150 Super Rugby appearances, is ranked as one of the world's premier poachers in the game.
Stegmann, who played the last of his six Tests back in 2011 and have only 80-odd Super Rugby appearances, is not rated as highly as Smith – but remains a vital cog in the Bulls set-up.
Ludeke feels that even though the Brumbies rely heavily on Smith, the Bulls can counter them with a combination of Stegmann's skills and getting numbers to the breakdown.
"Our specialist is definitely Steggies [Deon Stegmann] at the breakdown," he told this website, adding: "A good openside flank will certainly have a huge impact in a game of this nature.
"However, it remains a team effort, you do require numbers and everybody has to be focussed.
"You always have two or three players in every team that has that intuition to turn the ball over at the breakdown and have good technique.
"While it is a team effort, every team wants a specialist openside flank."
The statistics for this season suggest Stegmann may well require a lot of assistance from his teammates, as Smith has superior stats in almost every department.
Stegmann has scored four tries, had four line-breaks, produced 32 go-forward carries, won eight turnovers, made 82 tackles, conceded 13 penalties and lost possession twice.
Smith scored just one try, had two try-assists, four line-breaks, 47 go-forward carries, 21 turnovers, 98 tackles, three line-out wins, conceded nine penalties and lost possession six times.
As for the set-pieces, an area the Brumbies feel they can target – especially the Bulls' rickety scrums – Ludeke said they have worked hard in the last fortnight.
"It [set-piece play] was a priority for us [at training] this week," the Bulls coach said, adding: "In the last few weeks it was definitely not up to the standards we set for ourselves.
"That is one area where we will have to be very accurate this weekend.
"We have to ensure we get the quality possession we require in the game."
By Jan de Koning
