Nizaam Carr urges Bulls to pitch up against Benetton

Bulls loose forward Nizaam Carr has warned against complacency ahead of their United Rugby Championship quarter-final against Benetton, saying the Italian side are a force to be reckoned with.

The two sides will battle it out for a place in the URC last four at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (kick-off at 3.30pm). In their last meeting in May at the same venue during the URC regular season, the Bulls came out on top with a comprehensive 56-35 win.

“It’s a big one for us”

However, heading into this playoff match, Carr is not reading too much into that previous game, saying Benetton are difficult opponents and should not be taken lightly.

“They are a side you have to respect. You have to pitch up otherwise it’s going to be a really long day if you don’t cover all your bases,” Carr said this week.

“It’s a big one for us. A lot of people are saying Benetton are not a team to be worried about but that’s not the case in the way we are training in our preparation. It’s a massive game for us, it’s knockout rugby, we are looking forward to a tough physical challenge against them.”

Physical game

Looking at Benetton and the big-framed players they have in their forward pack, Carr is expecting them to put up a physical battle and try to dominate that aspect of the game.

“We’ve had a look at that, it’s a big part of their game,” said Carr.

“It’s probably one of the first things they will want to do against us. A lot of teams would like to physically dominate us, they know what’s coming.

“Yes, we have added some strings to our bow, but they know what’s coming against us. I’m sure it’ll be a big part of their game, if not to match us or be better than us. We are weary of how physical they are.”

Taking points

The Bulls have established themselves as the best attacking team in the URC, scoring a lot of wonderful tries this season. But with the competition now in the playoff stages, they will be a bit more pragmatic in their pursuit of points.

One of the things they will do is to look to kick for goal when they make entries into the 22m area.

“Any opportunity where it’s kickable, we need to take the points,” said the former Springbok forward.

“Jake (White, the Bulls director of rugby) mentioned it’s knockout rugby and with any 22m entries, it’s really important to take the points. But, if we feel they are under the pump and there’s an option to maul it, we’ll go for it. It’s also something we pride ourselves on.

“Any points we can get on offer, we are going to look to take because it is knockout rugby.”