Bulls hungry to strike first blow in Leinster rivalry
UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
Jan Serfontein had a good start to his Bulls URC career in their win over the Ospreys this past weekend. Photo: AFP
Image: AFP
The Bulls are expecting some of their injured stars to return only after they complete their opening overseas tour in the United Rugby Championship (URC).
That will also be around the time their Springboks rejoin the squad for a busy December schedule.
For now, without the Boks and key injured players such as No 8 Cameron Hanekom, loose forward Elrigh Louw, and flyhalf Johan Goosen, the team has still managed a positive start with an opening victory in the competition.
Yes, their outing against the Ospreys at Loftus Versfeld was far from smooth — despite winning 53-40 — and things will only get tougher when defending champions Leinster visit Pretoria on Saturday. It’s a replay of last season’s final, and the Bulls will look to strike the first psychological blow early in the campaign.
“Leinster will be hurting; they are a proud team,” Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann said.
“They would not have enjoyed what happened to them this past weekend in Cape Town. We also have a few things to work on, and that will be our focus.
"We’ll take it step by step. I don’t want to get ahead of myself about where we’ll be after these two games.”
The Bulls will look to their set piece to set the tone against the champions, while their backs will focus on gelling faster, especially on defence. Leinster, notably, struggled in the scrums and lineouts against the Stormers last Friday.
Ackermann praised both his forwards and the impact of new players. Centre Jan Serfontein scored a brilliant try after a well-timed support run, with lock Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg showing unexpected flair in the buildup. Nineteen-year-old winger Cheswill Jooste also marked his debut in style with two superb tries.
“The set piece was an important part of the match. We used it to swing momentum at key moments, whether to earn penalties or to score tries,” Ackermann said.
“Andries Bekker (forwards coach) did a great job with the players. The positive is that our set piece fired in the first game, and we’ll need that going forward.
"We’ve got dangerous and quality players in the backline, but it will take time for combinations to click. Hopefully, we’ll keep improving, but other teams will also get better.”
Ackermann added that it was a major boost to welcome back Serfontein and Janse van Rensburg, who had both been nursing niggles in the build-up to the URC opener. Their experience will be vital in the absence of several senior players.