VIDEO: Bulls won't go 'easy' on the Lions
REACTION: The Bulls may have done the Lions a massive favour by beating the Jaguares at the weekend, but there will be no favours handed out at Ellis Park this coming weekend.
The Bulls’ 43-34 at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend – which denied them a losing bonus point and ended an eight-match winning streak by the South Americans – ensured the Lions retained top spot in the South African conference.
The Lions must beat the Bulls at Ellis Park to retain the No.1 ranking in the SA conference, ahead of the Jaguares – who face the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
Bulls coach John Mitchell, who had an acrimonious separation from the Lions before they were kicked out of Super Rugby back in 2013, says the Bulls will not be holding back and allow the Lions an easy win and safe passage into the top three.
“They’re the best team in the conference and we may have done them a favour, [especially] with [the Jaguares’] last conversion hitting the post,” he said of a result that denied the Argentinean team a crucial losing bonus point.
The Bulls’ New Zealand mentor knows exactly what to expect from the Johannesburg-based franchise.
“This Lion [the team] feeds on certain things,” Mitchell said, adding: “Certain things are very, very important to them and they create momentum [from that].
“We’ve taken a look at them as a coaching staff and they’re very good, but we’ve got a very good chance of going to Ellis Park to finish the season with a win against the same team we started against.”
He said they expect plenty of mauling from the Lions.
“The maul is coming big time [on Saturday].
“Once that’s stopped‚ there’s going to be some plays out of the back from fake drives.
“Their forwards are also outstanding in the last 30 metres and that’s going to ask questions of us from a mental capacity and resilience perspective.”
Mitchell was impressed with the resilience his team showed to come back from 0-19 down to overpower the high-flying Jaguares.
“We just stuck to our processes and that’s what I’m pleased about‚” Mitchell said.
“At times [this season] we’ve shown immaturity when it comes to decision-making.
“At times we’ve shown impatience, when things haven’t worked in our way, but we just stuck at it and the boys emptied the tank and you can’t ask for more.
“The whole week was designed around our defensive plans feeding our attack. It wasn’t perfect, but our defence helped set up some tries.
“As I said the other day‚ I was asked as to what happened between now and the Hurricanes game. We’ve lost six close games and it’s small margins in this competition.
“We’ve demonstrated that we can perform in this competition‚ we’ve just go to become consistent.”
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