VIDEO: Leinster youngsters ready to invade the Kraal
Having upset the apple cart at Ellis Park this past weekend, the Leinster young guns head 50-odd kilometres up the N1 to Pretoria to repeat their fascinating feat at Loftus Versfeld.
The Lions looked to have the game in the bag, before Leinster’s famous ‘never-say-die’ systems kicked in and the Irish province stole a 39-36 win at the death.
The Bulls do present a very different challenge and invading a pack Loftus is a lot more daunting than an empty and echoing Ellis Park.
Leinster prop Ed Byrne, one of a handful of ‘veterans’ in the touring squad, admitted that they will not have the element of surprise in their favour this week.
Byrne, 29, stated the obvious when he said the Bulls are a ‘big’ set piece team – scrums and mauls.
“We can see them go to their power game,” he said of the Bulls’ game plan against the Irish tourists at Loftus Versfeld this coming Saturday.
“They also use their big ball carriers, so we will have to sure up our defence this week.”
The six-times capped international said that while the Bulls often make use of the beefy forwards, they have threats all over the park.
“We will need to be ‘honest’ on Saturday and front up physically as well.”
(Article continues below Ed Byrne interview …)
Having played at altitude for the first time in the 39-36 come-from-behind win over the Lions last week, the Leinster veteran said it was ‘taxing’ on the lungs.
With 95 Leinster caps that include many of the game’s most famous venues, he is looking forward to his first outing at the famed Loftus Versfeld.
“It will be brilliant,” he told @rugby365com, adding: “It is going to be a massive challenge.
“Having focussed on the Lions last week, we have now turned our focus on the Bulls.”
He said they will get a feel for the venue and the surface for the first time during the captain’s run on Friday.
“It is an occasion that we are all massively looking forward to,” he told @rugby365com, adding: “It will be a great challenge.”
Byrne admitted the Bulls’ in-your-face physicality will present a very different challenge from the Lions’ expansive approach last week.
“They are the games you want to play in,” he said about the ‘huge’ challenge of invading the Bulls’ kraal.
“We know we are going to have to front up physically.
“We are all very much looking forward to that. It will be a good test for us.
“It is good to see where you are at in those physical battles.”
@king365ed
@rugby365com
