Cape Town - The Bulls just managed to get past the Sharks 30-27 in their United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final, but will be up against it when they take on Irish giants Leinster in tonight’s semi-final in Dublin.
Leinster have won the last four titles, and come off a 76-14 walloping of Glasgow in their quarter-final.
But both teams will have 15 players on the field at the RDS Arena (8.35pm SA time kick-off), and the Bulls will aim to pull off a massive upset.
Here are five things that the Bulls must get right to emerge victorious …
1 Don’t give away early points
Bulls coach Jake White remembered how the Bulls conceded two early tries in their 31-3 loss to Leinster last September. Flank Josh van der Flier and prop Andrew Porter dotted down to give the hosts a 17-0 lead after just 13 minutes, and it was game over already. White feels that the Bulls are a different team now compared to the one that was overawed by the occasion at Aviva Stadium in the last encounter, but they have to show it by taking the fight to Leinster and defending strongly.
2 Take points on offer
While the Bulls’ attacking mindset has paid off this season, they have wasted numerous opportunities inside the opposition 22.
They often opt for line-outs, scrums or even tap penalties in the red zone that they don’t convert into tries, or their handling lets them down further out. That strategy was mainly due to the chase for four-try bonus points, but in a semi-final, that is not necessary.
As I’m sure that Leinster coach Leo Cullen won’t be reading this, here is some free advice for White’s team: let Chris Smith slot a drop goal with the first entry into the Leinster 22.
3 Avoid ‘finals rugby’
Having said that, though, it doesn’t mean that the Bulls must now go into their shells just because it’s a semi-final. They got this far due to their positive approach, and must avoid falling into playing ‘finals rugby’ – which means keeping things tight with the forwards, employing box-kicks, and not taking any risks on attack.
The Bulls must ensure that Canan Moodie, Madosh Tambwe and Cornal Hendricks get their hands on the ball often, and not just ask big No 8 Elrigh Louw to bash it up the middle. Be dynamic on attack and ask questions of the Leinster defence as well.
4 Manage the referee
The URC organisers sprung somewhat of a surprise when they appointed 30-year-old Italian official Andrea Piardi as the referee in Dublin, while there is also an Italian TMO in Matteo Lipperini. White mentioned
last week how difficult it is for away teams to win in the URC, as referees tend to favour the home side on 50-50 calls.
So, Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee needs to be right in the face of Piardi and not allow Leinster to get away with anything, especially at the breakdowns and scrums.
5 Get the reserves on early
Normally coaches either have a set time that they want to bring on the replacements, like the Springboks often do, or they wait to see how the game goes and sometimes keep the starting players on for longer.
But if the Bulls are to have any chance of keeping up with Leinster’s intensity, they need to be bold – and that means bringing on their reserves early. The whole front row must be changed at half-time, because if there were to be any injuries at prop or hooker in the second half, the starting players can come back on.
Dynamite fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse also needs to get as many minutes as possible to have a big impact.
IOL Sport