Bulls don’t have a problem with ‘favourites tag’, says winger

The Bulls do not have a monkey on their back about losing matches where they are deemed strong favourites.

Instead, they are simply unfortunate to sometimes be on the losing side, according to Bulls winger Sebastian de Klerk, who was this week quizzed about their performances in big games, especially at their home ground, Loftus Versfeld, where fans expect them to always win.

This comes after their 29–19 United Rugby Championship (URC) loss to the Sharks in Pretoria last week, which in many quarters was deemed a surprise and shock result.

The Bulls were favourites going into the game on the back of a three-match winning streak, including victories over the Sharks and Lions.

But they could not put the game away after the Sharks suffered injuries to Springboks Bongi Mbonambi and Trevor Nyakane early on and then received three yellow cards between the 42nd and 48th minute, taking them down to 12 men for a period.

Bulls also favourites in URC final

“I think to be the favourites is never a bad thing,” De Klerk weighed in.

He referred to last season’s URC final, where Scottish giants Glasgow Warriors travelled to Loftus and came from behind to claim a stunning 21–16 victory and their first URC title.

This despite the Bulls seeing off Glasgow in their round-robin match the month before.

“We as a club are doing something right if we are the favourites in a final against Glasgow, if we are the favourites in big games.

“I just think in all those games it was just silly things that really crept in.”

De Klerk noted missed tackles as a problem area especially, with the Sharks breaking the line repeatedly to score four tries for their bonus-point win last weekend.

He also mentioned that the Bulls lost the kicking game, failing to put the ball into touch when it mattered, and missing two of their four goal kicks.

Bulls are preferred favourites in most games

“I don’t think the Bulls have a problem with being favourites because I think in most games we are the preferred favourites as a union.

“If it’s Currie Cup or URC, doesn’t matter. I don’t think there’s something to it. I just think it’s unfortunate that we lost those games.”

The speedster said the Bulls try to maintain a very high standard in their rugby. They want to be seen as favourites in every game.

“We don’t want to be the underdogs,” he added.

He said the Bulls were focussing on what they could control because at the end of the day there are decisions that will not go your way.

“But if you can do the stuff correctly and keep the error rate low then you will have a good chance of winning.”

The Bulls host the Lions at Loftus on Saturday, at 2pm.