While the Bulls won four out of their five United Rugby Championship games this season, they haven’t quite found their rhythm on attack just yet.
But the return of prodigal son Johan Goosen from a broken nose for tonight’s showdown with Connacht in Galway (7.30pm start), as well as Willie le Roux and Canan Moodie from Springbok duty should aid their cause in every respect.
The Bulls displayed real tenacity to hold off Benetton 17-15 in their last encounter in Treviso on October 25, as well as the Ospreys (29-19) and Edinburgh – with the only really convincing victory coming in the 47-21 triumph over Ulster at Loftus Versfeld.
Throw in a disappointing 23-22 defeat to the Scarlets in Llanelli, and coach Jake White would have welcomed the month-long break to work on a few things to get his team firing at full cylinders once more.
But one of the main pieces of the Bulls puzzle who has been absent is Goosen, who played the whole Currie Cup semi-final against the Sharks in September despite sustaining a broken nose in the first half.
While Boeta Chamberlain did a solid job at No 10, the 32-year-old Goosen’s booming boot in particular will come in handy at The Sportsground in Galway, which is also a greyhound racing track that is exposed to the elements.
Rain and strong winds have been forecast for the Irish city today, so Goosen’s tactics will be vital in ensuring that the Bulls win territory with the wind behind them and hold onto the ball when playing into it.
“He has trained really well. I reminded our coaching staff yesterday that we’ve played five games this year and won four, and he hasn’t been part of any of them,” White said from Galway yesterday.
“This is basically his first URC game this season. It just shows that we’ve done really well without him, but training-wise, it’s a completely different training session when he’s running at 10 in our team.
“What’s nice is that everyone’s had a break, all the teams. So, it’s not like he’s being dumped into the deep end where teams have played three or four games in a row, and he has to come in and play against those teams.”
Clocked in & locked in 🔒 pic.twitter.com/z0y11N1ob2
White used a cricket analogy to explain the importance of the Bulls adopting the right approach in trying to win in Galway for the first time.
“Playing away will always be difficult, wherever you play will always be difficult and this is an even more difficult place because of the conditions. Wind is a big factor here because of the way the stadium is situated, and that influences the game strategy,” he said.
“I am glad to have Willie back with us this week because one thing he can do is control the game from the back as well, so he will be massive for us tomorrow because the wind at this ground can influence your game, unlike the stadiums we have back at home, which are closed off.
“This is probably the one ground where you got to win the toss. It is a bit like cricket in the sense that at this ground, playing with the wind counts in your favour.”
White opted to play three Boks – Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp and Cameron Hanekom – off the bench, and others such as Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw and Marco van Staden have been given the weekend off ahead of the Champions Cup game against Saracens in London next Saturday.
Our Springboks are back in blue this weekend against Connacht & we couldn't be more excited 🏆🐂💙
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) November 28, 2024
*From inside the camp yesterday 👀 #ForeverBlue pic.twitter.com/1dta0FWXyn
The visitors are also missing injured locks Ruan Nortjé and Reinhardt Ludwig.
“Playing away, you get the crowd behind their home team, the wind factor, a 4G pitch, which we have not played on in a long time – these are all factors we have to account for,” White said.
“Playing Connacht in Connacht is a tough gig for any team. They are a team that is always in the top eight and they never give anything away.
“I am expecting a really tough game, and what I really want is to see the things we have put into place over the last three weeks, which is a little bit of extra resilience on our tryline, which we will need for this game.”
Bulls Team
15 Willie le Roux 14 Canan Moodie 13 David Kriel 12 Harold Vorster 11 Sebastian de Klerk 10 Johan Goosen 9 Embrose Papier 8 Mpilo Gumede 7 Cobus Wiese 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain) 5 JF van Heerden 4 Ruan Vermaak 3 Francois Klopper 2 Akker van der Merwe 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Bench: 16 Johan Grobbelaar 17 Gerhard Steenekamp 18 Mornay Smith 19 Jannes Kirsten 20 Cameron Hanekom 21 Keagan Johannes 22 Aphiwe Dyantyi 23 Stedman Gans.