The Bulls have welcomed back centre Burger Odendaal for their Super Rugby match against the Chiefs from New Zealand in Pretoria on Saturday.
The team doesn’t show a lot of other changes in the starting line-up and with most of their players fit, there’s healthy competition for places in a Bulls side, which is outperforming pre-season expectations.
After a clean sweep over their local rivals at the start of the season, a lot of South African fans are asking, what has changed? There is a new coach but he’s not claiming the credit. Instead he says it’s a simple recipe, forwards who dominate and an in-form flyhalf who makes the best of their possession.
“If we can win the battle upfront, we’re halfway there. We got the pack to do that. Some guys still need to step up, but if we can do it and with Pollies in form and if we can give the same ball, as in the last four weeks, it will be great for us,” says Pote Human who is the Vodacom Bulls coach.
Now, the big test is a New Zealand side and it doesn’t matter that it’s a side who had a shocking start to the season.
“Now, you could see last week that they already switched to the old Chiefs side. The Hurricanes were not bad. It was the Chiefs who you could clearly see stepped up. The intensity will be a challenge because it’s much higher for them where the local sides, for good reason, play slower. It’s a new chapter for us. We are not looking at a 30 point win; any win will do,” says Handre Pollard the Bulls flyhalf.
Kick-off is just after three o’clock Saturday afternoon.
