Bulls address 'bad habits' ahead of Lions showdown
SPOTLIGHT: The Bulls have not been idle during their two-week break but used the time to work on fixing the small mistakes and the bad habits that tend to seep into a season, says Stedman Gans.
The centre took time out on Tuesday to talk to the media about the big upcoming derby against the Lions at Ellis Park this weekend and what the Bulls can expect this time round.
The previous time these two teams faced each other was at Loftus in late January and the hosts just managed to scrape through with a narrow win.
Gans said the Bulls really took time to regroup and remind themselves that it is still a long season.
“As the season goes on you tend to fall into bad habits, you tend to focus on your opponent and you are going to counter what they do.
“In a time like this, it is a great opportunity to revisit those small things, how we want to run our shape, what options we want to pick where on the field. Those types of conversations have happened a lot over the last two weeks,” Gans revealed.
“We know this is a long competition. We always use the analogy ‘climbing Mount Everest’. If your eyes are up there, you are going to miss the small step right in front of you.
“So, that is our mindset, just to focus on what we have to do next. And not worry too much, or think, that we have achieved anything.”
Looking ahead at the game this weekend, Gans said the Bulls were under illusions about the threats the men from Johannesburg pose.
“Looking forward to it – obviously a very close one, the last game against the Lions. And they put us under pressure in a number of parts of the game. We think we’ve rectified that now, so we need to go out and test what we did in the last two weeks.
“They have good attacking threats all over the Park. They are a well-rounded team, they are very hungry, they play hard for each other. You can see it is a team that cares for each other.
“With Nohamba there at flyhalf, they have a good kicking game. All-round I would say that they are a team that can put you under pressure in a few different ways, like they did to us.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it is one specific thing they do exceptionally well. They do a lot of things very good. And that’s what puts you under pressure.
“We’ve been preparing to play any type of game that’s going to give us a victory over the weekend. If it’s going to be a high-kicking game, we are ready for that, if it’s going to be an open running game, we are ready that.
“If it’s going to be a forward-dominating game, we’ve prepared for that as well.”
Gans said it was great to have their two Springboks, Canan Moodie and Kurt-Lee Arendse, back in the Bulls fold.
“They bring a lot of confidence, a lot of experience from the Springboks, and also, they are just good guys to be around. Always good to have them back. “
