The Bulls will want to be as dominant on the gainline as they were against the Dragons on their previous visit to Wales.
It could be a misty and freezing cold evening for the Bulls at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli on Friday night as they take on Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship, but the visitors should have little trouble spotting the big forwards charging towards the gain-line and bringing the heat to the collisions.
Normally a strength of the Bulls, last weekend their dominance of the gain-line against Olympique Lyon was indistinct, and they need to step it up there on Friday night if they are to beat a Scarlets side who have suddenly begun playing with great clarity.
“Of their last seven games, Scarlets have won six of them,” Bulls assistant coach Chris Rossouw pointed out on Thursday. “So they have found their rhythm. We know they are an attacking side, but they have found that balance between kicking, territory and attack.
“They have beaten all the other Welsh teams and the Free State Cheetahs, so they are in good form. It all starts on the gainline, they are physical and dominate the collisions, so that’s one of our focal points.
Read more: Cheetahs still in Challenge Cup hunt despite Scarlets loss
“They are big boys, but they also have the ability to offload, so we have to try and limit that through our tackle technique. We need to front up at the set-pieces and the collisions, bring the physicality that South African boys can bring,” Rossouw said.
An injury to powerhouse centre Jonathan Davies and the unavailability of their Six Nations players are developments that will give the Bulls further hope, and Rossouw said their confidence is still in place despite the tough succession of away matches they have had.
Read more: Smith, Goosen to combine for Bulls against Scarlets
“We all know Scarlets are on a high and it will be a good challenge, but I think we are still high on confidence as well,” Rossouw said. “We slipped up last week, but after losses to the Stormers and Sharks we bounced back against the Dragons and Exeter.
“We showed a lot of energy up front, so we want to maintain that. Confidence is important, but execution and being clinical are more important.
“Our biggest learning on tour has been to focus on our discipline. If you can’t break the cycle then you will continue conceding penalties, and we don’t want to be defending on our own tryline all the time.
“We have to break Scarlets down up front first, like we did against the Dragons. If we make sure we get that right, then the points and result will take care of themselves,” Rossouw said.
Bulls: Johan Goosen, David Kriel, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Stravino Jacobs, Chris Smith, Zak Burger, Elrigh Louw, Cyle Brink, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje (c), Ruan Vermaak, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench: Jan-Hendrick Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Janko Swanepoel, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Cornal Hendricks, Wandisile Simelane.
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