'Shark Tank not ideal for rugby'
SUPER RUGBY SPOTLIGHT: The Bulls will let the Sharks do all the playing when the two teams meet at Kings Park on Saturday.
The Bulls are hurting after their 20-56 humiliation at the Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld last weekend and they will be looking to bounce back against the Sharks in Durban.
The two teams faced each other a few weeks ago in Round Four with the Bulls storming to an emphatic 37-14 victory in Pretoria.
The Bulls scored some great tries that day and they will be looking for more of the same. However, conditions might play a big role in the way the Bulls approach this week’s game.
With humidity being a big factor, Bulls backline coach Chris Rossouw is expecting his backline to be a lot smarter.
“If you go back to Saturday’s game [against the Chiefs], I think we actually attacked very well,” said Rossouw.
“They [Chiefs] got a sliding defence and we got the yards; the only problem was that we did not convert that and we lost balls at critical moments.
“I think the nice thing for us is that somewhere it’s going to click and we are going to get the points for that yards we created.
“The Sharks have one of the best defensive systems and all the teams that have played them experienced that.
“The Shark Tank is not ideal for rugby – it is very slippery, so we will have to adapt accordingly and make sure that whenever we keep the ball, we do it properly and convert that into points.”
The Bulls will be looking to their halfbacks to get them in the right areas of the field on Saturday.
“Any team that goes to the Shark tank it is about tactical kicking and it is very slippery, so even if you go into contact the ball slips out.
“You have to plan well and make sure that you execute that on the day,” Rossouw added.
Rossouw believes his team’s defeat to the Chiefs was the wake-up call they needed for the rest of the competition.
“All areas of our game were not up to standard.
“We played a New Zealand team that plays a different type of footy and different types of defensive systems, so you need to adapt your kicking game and your attacking game, and we learnt a lot of good lessons over the weekend.”
Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
