Bulls wary of repeating late lapse against Benetton

Mike Greenaway

The Bulls are driving their fans nuts with their unfortunate habit of second-half fade-outs but strongman Wilco Louw is hopeful they can eradicate the issue before the United Rugby Championship play-offs.

The Bulls almost blew it last week against the Warriors when they went from being in a commanding position to clinging on for their 40-34 win. The Bulls weren’t so lucky a few weeks back when Munster came from behind to nail a famous win.

“We can’t say exactly what is going on but it is definitely not what we wanted,” said Louw, who played 14 Tests for the Boks between 2017 and 2021.

“I think we are drifting off the game plan and a few mistakes result in a snowball effect. It is not a case of us taking our foot off the accelerator.

“We need to keep our focus on what we are supposed to be doing for the whole 80 minutes. For instance, if the plan is to kick the ball out in a certain position, then that is what we must do, not keep it in play. That is what I mean by lapses in concentration.”

The Bulls host Benetton this Saturday and Louw says they understand the Italians will cash in if the Bulls persist with losing their way in the last quarter of the game.

“We have seen what Benetton did to the Sharks in last 20 in Durban,” he said.

“They have some experienced Italy internationals in their side and we are finding that the overseas teams are getting wise at how to play at altitude. They are clever in how they slow the game down in the second half.

“We saw it with Munster, especially. Any chance to halt play they took.”

Louw was asked about his favourite subject, scrumming and his thoughts on World Rugby’s rule changes to potentially lessen the number of scrums in a match. He feels that all is not lost.

“There will still be knock-ons in the game,” Louw said.

“They won’t take scrums away completely. That’s only one part they have tried to change.

“But I think there will be more than enough opportunities to make your mark in the scrums. The teams won’t have fewer knock-ons in the game, so there will still be opportunities. You will just have to use the opportunities better.

“Where you could’ve scrummed more and used it more as a weapon, you now have to pick your battles because there will be fewer scrums. However, if you target certain scrums and take the opportunity, you can still stamp your authority.”

The 29-year-old has put up his hand for a recall to the Boks by returning from Europe and scrumming powerfully for the Bulls. His form was rewarded with a call-up to the Bok alignment camp earlier this year.

“It remains any rugby player’s dream to play for the Boks and if that moment comes again, it will be a huge privilege to play for them.

“At the camp, we met new coaches (Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery). We looked at the bigger picture, where we are and where the Springboks want to be.

“We didn’t talk about much else. We just met each other and discussed what the plans are for the year.

“There is still a lot of rugby left to play but as I said, it will always remain a big dream and a privilege if I get there again. If you play good rugby for your union and enjoy it, then the opportunity is there.”