AUDIO: Siya's list of Bulls attributes

AUDIO: Even though the Sharks seem to have the Bulls’ number this season, having beaten them twice, Siya Kolisi has been singing the Pretoria side’s praises instead.

The Sharks have already beaten Jake White’s side home and away in the United Rugby Championship this season. These two sides will face each other in the semifinal at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Talking to reporters this week in the build-up to the semifinal against the Bulls at Loftus this weekend, Kolisi took time to point out all the positive attributes of the Bulls and seemed to suggest that his Sharks side heads into the game as the underdogs.

Kolisi reckons the Sharks will have multiple threats to contend with.

“I am expecting from the Bulls what they are good at. They score a lot of tries from the lineouts, they are a good mauling side, and they play a lot off the lineouts, both off the top and with their driving.

“They have really strong loosies, and there is a reason that Cameron Hanekom, who is an amazing player, is in contention for URC Player of the Year.

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“Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been a standout, Ruan Nortje, Marcell [Coetzee] – if you look at their pack and suss out their form, both individually and as a collective, it is clear that their pack is going to be a big challenge for us,” the Springbok captain highlighted.

He didn’t stop there, opting to sing the praises of the backs as well.

“And the guys at the back are as good. Embrose [Papier] is amazing, and Willie [le Roux] takes charge.

“Canan [Moodie] makes decisions on the outside and is extremely dangerous. They are great at scoring off counter-attacks and turnovers. We know we will have our work cut out, and we will have to be very good to win this one.

“As for the pack, we know it’s going to be a real battle up front, so we’ll have to stand our ground.”

“There’s a lot we have to watch. That’s what makes preparing for them difficult – they’ve got so many ways to hurt you. They score off the counter, off turnovers, too.

“We’ve got to focus on executing our plan on the day, because if you spend too much time worrying about them, where do you even begin to stop them?”

While the Bulls convincingly beat Edinburgh (42-33) in the quarterfinal last weekend, the Sharks made things tough for themselves against Munster and eventually had to overcome a penalty shootout in Durban.

But their Springbok-laden pack was very impressive in their win, as was their willingness to fight for the cause.

“There has been good progress from us this year in terms of the results, but I think the thing we have learned the most about ourselves this season, and which has been the point of difference from previous years, is that we know we can fight,” said Kolisi.

“We have won games that in previous years we would have lost. An example was the home game against the Bulls.

“We had injuries and several players were missing, but, as has been the case all season, other players were able to come in and do the job for us. That is what we do. We fight and we don’t give up.

“At the end of the day, people will say what they want about how you played, but the result is what matters.

“Of course, you want to play well and improve, but we were able to fight at Edinburgh, and again at Ulster, and that’s what counts. It’s hard to win away, and we managed to do it even when we weren’t at our best.

“It’s going to be a physical game, definitely,” Kolisi said. “The set piece will be vital, but there’s so much else – attack, defence, turnovers – which both sides thrive on.”