Bulls go big in the 'new' game
Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:44
On the charge: Bulls No.8 Pierre Spies.
The defending champion Bulls, buoyed by the fact that their nearest rivals all lost at the weekend, will return from their bye week refreshed and ready to defending their two-year unbeaten run at home.
The men from Pretoria will host the Highlanders at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday as the only unbeaten team remaining after four weeks.
More importantly, in their absence it was once again evident why they managed to dominate the opening month of the season - with the new emphasis on the breakdown/tackle law allowing their large, athletic runners the freedom they always sought.
With 149 points and 17 tries they are not just the tournament leaders, but have scored more points and tries than all their closest rivals - teams who have now all played an extra game.
Bulls centre Jaco Pretorius, who is holding onto the slim hope that he will recover in time from his leg injury to face the Highlanders, admitted that the Bulls' game has always been suited to big, strong ball carriers and a direct approach.
And with the match officials now also allowing for a bit more of a contest at the breakdown, the Bulls'; big forwards could be even more prominent in the weeks to come.
"You require mobile players, players with skill," Pretorius told rugby365.com, when asked about how the Bulls have experienced the new approach to the breakdown.
"You no longer require that many players who have to clean out and seal off rucks," the midfielder said, adding: "The demands for players scrapping on the ground is not longer as big - even a guy like myself can now protect the ball.
"The smaller guys can set it up and you have the big, mobile guys running onto the ball and gain metres.
"That is where these new interpretations suit, not just us ... many other teams, but certainly are beneficial to the Bulls.
"It is because we have so many ball carriers that do a good job of taking the ball up," he said - pointing out that human juggernauts like Pierre Spies, Danie Rossouw, Pedrie Wannenburg, Flip van der Merwe, Gurthrö Steenkamp and Dewald Potgieter now have all the space and time they need.
It also frees up other athletic and free-running forwards like Victor Matfield and Deon Stegmann.
The other fearsome thought is that the Bulls have not yet produced a complete 80-minute performance - despite averaging almost six tries a game.
Pretorius said the Bulls are determined to continue scoring tries, often passing up penalty shots at goal if the match situation allows it.
"The new application of the rules provides so much more [opportunity] to the attacking team that you must realise tries will be scored, you just have to make sure you score more," the centre told rugby365.com.
"To keep a team out, if that team keeps the ball through 13/14 phases, is near impossible.
"That is why, when you have a six-point lead in a game where tries are flowing, you know you need to score tries - because penalties may not be enough.
"That is not taking anything away from our defence, or suggesting we can't defend, but if a team keeps the ball through numerous phases they will gain yardage and will eventually score.
"The only way to secure a turnover is to make really big hits or hope they knock the ball on.
"At the same time it gives us better chances, we just have to get into the right areas and if we get into the right areas and we retain the ball we will get that score.
"We know we have some really great ball-carriers and we have enough players that can fulfil that role ... world class players.
"I'm sure Pierre Spies sleep with a song in his heart every night if he knows he is going to play that weekend, because it is his type of game.
"And now suddenly Victor [Matfield] can also hang around in the backline, because he can carry the ball."
By Jan de Koning