Bulls must show patience on attack

THE Bulls were staring down the barrel of a third consecutive United Rugby Championship defeat when they were 16-3 down at half-time against Cardiff last week.

But a mixture of patience and a more direct approach in the second half worked a treat as the Pretoria side scored 26 points after the break for a well-deserved 29-19 victory.

Coach Jake White will demand more of the same in tomorrow’s showdown with Edinburgh at the DAM Health Stadium (6.15pm SA time kick-off), but they will need to avoid allowing the Scots to build up an early lead.

Here are three areas they need to focus on …

1 Neutralise South African props

Yes, Edinburgh have four of them – looseheads Pierre Schoeman and Boan Venter, and tightheads Luan de Bruin and WP Nel.

Schoeman played for the Bulls before, and the latter three for the Cheetahs, so they will all be keen to prove a point against fellow South Africans … although Schoeman and Nel have played Test rugby for Scotland.

2 Stay patient on attack

White went as far as to say that the Bulls had been “a little bit lazy” in cleaning out rucks in the first half against Cardiff, and that cannot happen against an Edinburgh side that will also contest the breakdowns hard as they look to play a hightempo attacking game.

The Bulls fixed the issue in the second half, and the difference was substantial.

The forwards generated quick ball for the backline, and the big men upfront were also able to stamp their authority.

Star No 8 Elrigh Louw got the ball rolling with his monstrous charge over the line from tap penalty just after half-time, and that set the tone for the rest of the match.

The Bulls must engage the Edinburgh pack in a physical battle, as the Scottish outfit like nothing more than throwing the ball around, with former Lions player Jaco van der Walt pulling the strings at flyhalf.

If they can pull in the loose forwards around the fringes, it will open up space out wide for red-hot wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Madosh Tambwe to do their thing.

White was delighted with how the Bulls were able to put multiple phases together on attack and stretch the Cardiff defence in the second half, with flyhalf Chris Smith’s calm hand and solid kicking boot proving vital.

3 Don’t concede early points

In their last two matches against Benetton and the Stormers, Edinburgh have somehow managed to stay in the game right until the end – against the Italian side, they went down 28-27 to an injury-time drop goal from Leonardo Marin, and it was nearly a similar outcome against the Capetonians, as Tim Swiel’s drop-goal attempt did not find the target in a 20-20 draw.

Edinburgh got off to fast starts against Benetton and the Stormers, leading 19-8 and 14-0 respectively, so the Bulls defence needs to be awake from the start and not concede early points, as that will prevent the hosts from having that cushion to stay in the game in the second half.