The Bulls must back up their Investec Champions Cup win against Pau in France a week ago with victory against Edinburgh in the United Rugby Championship. The win a week ago snapped a seven-match losing sequence and it was just enough to get the Bulls into the Champions Cup last 16. They play Glasgow’s Warriors in Glasgow on April 4.
All focus this weekend is on the URC, where the Bulls started well and then fell off a cliff, with teams running riot against a feeble defence. That defence stood firm in Pau, with the Bulls making four times the tackles of Pau in attempting 300 tackles and winning with just 30% possession and territory. Nizaam Carr, who started at No 8, led the tackle stats and was the leader in nearly every facet of play.
He also scored the match-equalling try, with Handré Pollard landing the two points that won the match and took the Bulls into the last 16. Defence is as much about attitude as it is systems, and the Bulls for the first time this season showed desperation, intent and desire to defend their tryline. More of that desperation will be needed in Edinburgh, whose form has been a mixture of impressive and awful.
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Edinburgh beat Toulon in the Champions Cup but lost back-to-back derby matches against Glasgow, who are among the leading teams in all competitions this season. The Bulls, with so many world-class individuals, have the potential to be a top four team in the URC, but the winning must continue in Edinburgh. Bulls coach Johan Ackermann has taken the strongest available group on tour for last Friday and this Friday’s matches, with the bench selections this week as strong as they were last week.
The substitutes made the necessary impact in Pau. More of the same has to happen in Edinburgh. The Lions face a tough challenge in Wales against the Ospreys, by way of weather conditions, but frankly one never knows what to expect from the Lions. Just when you think they have found cohesion and simplicity to be effective, they implode, and once written off, they find a special performance to embarrass those doubters.
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