Cape Town - Losing to the Sharks – and Stormers – at Loftus Versfeld last season hurt the Bulls badly, and it is something captain Marcell Coetzee wants to prevent from happening in Sunday’s United Rugby Championship clash in Pretoria (3pm kickoff).
The Bulls went down 29-22 to the Durban outfit last February, and although they avenged that defeat with a 30-27 quarter-final triumph, they don’t want to drop log points during the league stages as that affects their bid to host quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals.
“If you want any chance of having a home playoff, you have to win your home games. You don’t want to lose at Loftus – there isn’t a worse feeling than that. And with the occasion on Sunday, and creating awareness of cancer and playing with our pink jerseys, it will be a big event,” Coetzee said from Loftus yesterday.
“So, we want to make an impact off the field as well and want to make the people proud.”
Coetzee will be bidding farewell to the Bulls for a short stint in Japan with Kobe Steelers after the Sharks match, and hopes to return to Pretoria in early May with his team still in the running for the playoffs.
But first it’s his former team that will be keen to cause a bit of an upset on Sunday, considering that they are likely to miss most of their big-name Springboks such as Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Makazole Mapimpi and Bongi Mbonambi, who will fly to Dublin on Saturday ahead of next weekend’s Test against Ireland.
Coetzee, though, knows the Bulls won’t have it easy, and he wants his team to continue with the momentum gained in last week’s 44-22 bonus-point over Benetton in Treviso.
“At the end of the day, your country comes first, and the guys have a job to do overseas. But the Sharks will still be able to field a team that is still dangerous – the depth chart at the Sharks is very good,” the No 6 said.
“The Sharks this weekend will be a physical battle. Even without their Springboks, they still have unbelievable players. So, we just do what we can and prepare for a titanic battle this weekend.
“We are very pleased with our last performance. Losing two matches on tour is not our standard at the Bulls, but fortunately we could build a bit of self-confidence – especially in that second half. We started playing the game-plan that we want to play.
“Obviously it was not a perfect performance… we still want to be better disciplined, especially playing the Sharks – you don’t want to let them into your half with bad discipline. We got good rewards from our mauls as well, and you’ve got to find areas where you can exploit weaknesses.”
Meanwhile, the Bulls are proving that they are serious about turning their scrum into a force after confirming the signing of Springbok tighthead prop Wilco Louw yesterday.
The 28-year-old front-rower has concluded a three-year contract with the Pretoria side, but will join them on July 1, 2023.
Louw is a big unit and renowned for being a rock in the scrums, which saw him earn 14 Springbok Test caps as well.
But he has largely been out of the Bok mix while at Harlequins, and a return to South Africa will put him back in the eye of national coach Jacques Nienaber.
The Bulls, though, will have to wait eight more months before they can utilise his services.
“It is exciting to be going back to South Africa and to be reunited with the Bulls. I had an unbelievable time at Harlequins with great memories, and hopefully we can make some great memories in Pretoria too,” Louw said yesterday.
“My rugby career started at the Bulls, and I think it’s every rugby player’s dream to win a few trophies in their career, so I am very keen to join the team and work with great players and coaches to make that dream our reality.”