Louw: 'We're pulling the trigger too early' 

SPOTLIGHT: Springbok and Bulls loose forward Elrich Louw identified the errors his side made in their 21-30 Champions Cup loss to Northampton Saints this past weekend, ahead of their upcoming United Rugby Championship clash against the Sharks.

Louw pinpointed where things had gone wrong for the Bulls against Northampton, highlighting patience and execution as two of the main issues.

“We should show a bit more composure as a team.

“I thought we built great momentum and were all over them bossing the possession.

“We didn’t capitalise on it and I feel like we should’ve gone one more phase and that we’re over-eager at times, basically pulling the trigger too early.

“We should just be more patient when we have those opportunities.

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The loose forward didn’t make any excuses in regard to the vigorous travelling schedule in-between the two competitions.

“Obviously it is tough, but that’s the reality for everyone, you had to travel for Super Rugby as well.

“So it’s not an excuse we want to use, it is what it is, we have to travel and everyone has to travel.

“I mean the Saints [Northampton] had to come here and they’re going back.

“They are playing Saracens this weekend so it’s part of both tournaments.

“We must not look into that too deep and use it as an excuse.”

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On the upcoming clash against the Sharks, Louw know exactly what to expect from their local rivals.

“They’re very skillful and have talented players from No.1 to No.15.

“They love it when the game gets a bit loose so we expect them to want some turnovers.

“We can expect them to kick a lot, a lot of contestable kicks off No.9 and obviously their set-piece is very dominant with the players they have.”

There will be no love lost in what in many ways can be seen as a Springbok trail match when a host of national teammates will lock horns at Kings Park this weekend.

“When you’re between the two lines, the only friends you have is the friends that are on your team.

“We’ve got a lot of respect for them but I think from their side as well.

“You can’t be friends whilst a match is underway.”

Following the loss to Northampton Saints, Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White made a comment saying that he puts a picture of the Sharks in the dressing room and tell his players that it’s a Springbok team in black jerseys as motivation.

Louw, however doesn’t believe that his side needs any extra motivation for this upcoming clash.

“South African derbies are always a massive occasion, and there’s a lot of pressure on these derbies for some reason.

“I think the guys know what has to be done.

“For ourselves we need to put up a good performance this weekend before we go into our break [bye].

“I don’t think Jake needs to say a lot.”

Louw highlighted the importance of getting a positive result against the Sharks after the Northampton loss.

“It is important psychologically to get a win before we get off and start the new year.

“We’re taking this game quite serious, I don’t think there’s a lot of motivation needed.”