Bulls strategy in Castres clash is to be ‘street smart’

Leighton Koopman

There will be room to express themselves with ball-in-hand, but the Bulls believe they need to be street-smart to claim an away win over Castres on Saturday night (10pm SA time start) in their do-or-die Champions Cup encounter.

After two losses on the trot in the tournament, Jake White’s team need a full complement of five points in France to keep any chance alive of making it to the play-offs.

They are expecting a hostile Castres fan-base, but that won’t put them off as they look to get their European season back on track.

Bulls halfback pair Keegan Johannes and flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain both emphasised the importance of staying calm when the going gets tough, and not thinking about their exit possibly looming.

“We don’t want to over-think things and put a lot of unnecessary pressure on ourselves,” Chamberlain said this week.

“If we stick to the basics and the easy things the correct way, I think it will pay off at the end of the day.

“I don’t think there is a lot of pressure on us (as the halfbacks) ... It’s more about going out and enjoying ourselves, and express what we have.

“It will come down to how well we prepare, and if we prepare well, the less pressure we’ll feel.

“We’ve been brought here to do what we need to do, and that is going for a win.”

Johannes agreed with Chamberlain, and said the basics will be very important, especially if they consider the weather in Castres.

But he believes this is the perfect opportunity to put some pressure on the players they are competing with for starting positions at the Bulls.

“We are going to have to be street-smart because we are playing against a team with the home crowd backing them,” the nippy scrumhalf noted.

“That brings a lot of noise and probably (close) calls going their way.

“If we keep cool and focus on the plan, we will be in a good space.

“We are fine with adapting to the weather – it’s not something we haven’t seen before.

“Everyone is on the same page knowing what needs to be done this weekend. They understand the plan, and if we can execute it to the best of our abilities, we will be fine.”

While they will be the game drivers of the Bulls, the halfbacks feel they won’t have to suppress their attacking game, even if it is a crunch match.

They are still set to go out and try and put their strike players into space to continue the attacking rugby they’ve dished up this season.