Bulls close history books ahead of URC Final
SPOTLIGHT: Bulls star Arno Botha says his team will not be putting “unnecessary” pressure on themselves ahead of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship Final against the Stormers in Cape Town.
The Bulls have a great history when it comes to finals and it’s something pundits are focussing on ahead of this weekend’s North-South derby.
They have won all three (2007, 2009 and 2010) Super Rugby Finals they have played in, and if you focus on more recent records they have won the last two Currie Cup Finals (both against Sharks).
However, Botha says the history books will be staying closed this week as they focus on the biggest game of the season.
“We won’t put pressure on ourselves, but we will tell ourselves it is a Final and you want to win a Final,” said the loose forward.
“We are not going to mention the wins in 2007, 2009 and 2010 – we have to win this one. It’s unnecessary for us to do that [mention history].
“It might be used as motivation, but we are not going to put ourselves under pressure because of that.
“We just want to make sure that we can control the things we can control.”
Once more unto the breach 🏆 pic.twitter.com/y1DRos1JFD
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) June 15, 2022
‘Clash of the titans’
The Bulls lost their previous two encounters against the Stormers this season and Botha knows that they are in for a tough battle up front.
“We know what they want to bring. They will want to make it physical up front and have the forwards to do it.
“It is definitely something we will look at.
“It is also a strong focus for us to have good forwards and dominant forwards, so it’s going to be a clash of the titans.”
The Bulls caused a massive upset when they overpowered Leinster for a 27-26 win in their semifinal in Dublin.
That result has surely given Jake White’s side huge motivation heading into this week’s Final, but Botha says they are not getting ahead of themselves.
“It wasn’t our first big victory,” he said.
“We won the Currie Cup twice and most of the guys who are in the group were there as well.
“The guys understand that they can’t think about that all the time. It was good for us to win those games, but it’s time to go on and the next job is on Saturday.
“Everyone understands that.”
@rugby365com
