Stormers unfazed by Bulls' big guns
Stormers vice-captain Juan de Jongh insists they are fully focused on themselves and not the Bulls ahead of their opening Super Rugby game at Loftus on Saturday.
Both sides will be looking to get their 2015 Super Rugby campaign off to a good start with the Bulls being tipped as the favourites at fortress Loftus Versfeld where the partisan crowd, and altitude, is sure to swing the psychological advantage in the hosts' favour.
"It is going to be a very important game this weekend to get our campaign on the road. We are focused on ourselves and making sure we get our things right.
"Loftus is a difficult venue and they will obviously have the crowd behind them. We know the altitude is a big factor but we don't want to be thinking about that. It's all about our preparations and making sure we are all on the same page so that we can bring our A game on Saturday.
"We are not worried about who they will select. It's going to be a tough match that will come down to who makes the least mistakes. We just need to make sure we tick all of our boxes and put them under as much pressure as we can. Both sides want to get off to a good start and they [Bulls] are playing good rugby at the moment.
"It's important for us to remain switched on and then we will play good rugby in what is going to be a big Super Rugby match," he said.
De Jongh captained Western Province to victory at Loftus in the Currie Cup but he feels that result will have no baring on this match as it's a completely different competition against a completely Bulls team.
"The performances against them in the Currie Cup means nothing. If you look at the players coming in for them, they are a different team who poses a different challenge and we also know they [Bulls] are a different team at Loftus.
"We need to make sure we are well prepared, focused and know what to expect when we run out onto the field on Saturday. It's going to be a bumpy ride between 19.00 and 21.00.
"We will take the experience and confidence from the Currie Cup into the Super Rugby competition but Super Rugby is a different competition and a tougher competition. We want to get off to a good start, if you look at two years ago, we made things difficult for ourselves by losing the first few games.
"Hopefully we can get a good result from the first game to get the ball rolling and put ourselves in a good position going forward in the tournament," he added.
The outside centre added that he combines well with Stormers captain, Duane Vermeulen and that the pair compliments each other off the field. They will look to continue that on the field in order to bring the best out of the rest of the team that consists of an exciting backline.
"We have an exciting back three who are still very young in terms of Super Rugby experience and hopefully they can keep building on their combination, but it's not only about them, it's about all seven of us. The work has to be done by Nic [Groom], Demetri [Catrakilis], Damien [de Allende] and myself first before we can give the back three their chance to shine.
"We know what to expect this weekend and we know what they [Bulls] bring in terms of their midfield but it's not about the centres, it's about the whole backline. Hopefully we can stop what they bring and get onto the front foot," he stated.
By Tauriq Ebrahim
@Tagels03
@rugby365com
