Botha predicts tough battle for Bulls against his former team

Explosive loose-forward Arno Botha may have fond memories of his former club, Munster, and will be looking forward to catching up with old mates, but his main business this weekend will be to leave it all out on the Loftus Versfeld pitch for the Bulls.

Only two years ago, Botha turned out for the Irish giants where he proved to be an integral part of the side under former Bulls assistant coach, Johann van Graan, now the head honcho at Munster.

“I know quite a few of the guys, and I remain friends with quite a few of them, so it will be quite awesome to catch up with them,” Botha said ahead of Saturday night’s United Rugby Championship clash.

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The versatile loose-forward reflected on his time with the Irish outfit.

“It was a different challenge for me, my first time overseas, so I embraced everything that came with that opportunity,” Botha said

“I played a lot of rugby and learned a lot about rugby, and I was fortunate enough to work with good coaches. That is something I took to heart and meant a lot to me, and obviously getting my career back on track.”

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Botha will, undoubtedly, be one of the key figures for the Bulls this weekend, in a match that will be played in front of 2 000 spectators.

“The quality of rugby will definitely be good. Munster has very high standards and they have really good depth. That is something we really need to focus on,” said the former Junior Springbok captain.

“It won’t be just another day at the office. We will have to get out there and do an equally good job.

“They have a good structure with Johann (van Graan), JP (Ferreira), Stephan (Larkham) and Graham (Rowntree). It’s a structure that is easy to fit into and play a good game, no matter who is in the jersey for Munster.”