I have a feeling that the Bulls might adjust their tactics this week against the Western Force.
Well, if you were the coach, wouldn’t you? Their traditional strategy hasn’t really worked on this tour apart from that first-up win against a weak Hurricanes side.
Putting up the box kick or bomb and waiting for a mistake from the opposition is passé in Australia and I dare say the Force will have been training all week for this very eventuality. Teams have worked the tactic out and put capable players in positions to defuse the threat. Last week it was Will Genia covering and he caught every one of them.
The world has moved on but it appears the Bulls haven’t. They’ve been beaten in South Africa by the Highlanders and Stormers, had close run wins against the Lions (twice) and Cheetahs and were comprehensively defeated by the Crusaders. The Reds put them to the sword but allowed them to stay in the match by the nature of their expansive game plan. Clearly, this ain’t the Bulls team it used to be.
That’s not to suggest that a Force outfit that are languishing in the netherworld will just run over them. They’re still a powerful side and on paper look too strong. But the Force do have an opportunity to contest a match that earlier in the season may have thought beyond them.
Really, it’s about how you turn up on the day with this one. The Bulls must be tired after four weeks on the road and they’d be looking forward to their flight back to South Africa on Sunday. They’d also be a bit downcast as to how it’s all turned out. That said, they know the Force aren’t world beaters and they’ll fancy their chances.
I might put $100 bucks on the All Blacks to win the RWC but I wouldn’t put that much on the Force to win this one. However, I might put a tenner on though as a speculator.
I’d imagine the Bulls will recognise the dangerman is JO’C in the backs and try to shut him down. His marker, Wynand Olivier, is an international but has been patchy in defence of late. Good luck to them.
Morné Steyn will punch the penalty goals over all day if there is any ill-discipline in the Force’s half. The Bulls’ danger men are wingers Bjorn Basson and Francois Hougaard, who has reverted to 11. They’re electric, in form and can score from anywhere. Why wouldn’t you play with more width when you’ve got these guys at the end of your attack? What have they got to lose?
The Bulls were forced to make a late change today when it emerged their outside centre selection, veteran Jaco Pretorius, hadn’t fully recovered from a neck injury.
Pretorius’s place in the starting lineup will be filled by Stephan Dippenaar, who wore the number 13 jersey in last week’s match against the Reds. Fly-half Francois Brummer will replace Dippenaar on the bench. Other changes include the return of Fourie du Preez at scrum-half and Deon Stegmann to starting flanker instead of Derick Kuün.
The Force have David Smith injured and Rory Sidey is moved to cover his wing spot. Pat Dellit reverts from fullback to his usual outside centre position with Cameron Shepherd returning to the custodian role. It’s good to see Matt Dunning start at tighthead and Pek Cowan also returns to the run-on side. Mark Bartholomeusz (Fairbanks is injured) and Mark Swanepoel are the new bench players. The speculation that David Pocock and Matt Hodgson will be surprise starters turned out to be just that.
I’m expecting the Force set-piece will struggle to match the Bulls set-piece, especially at line-out time. However, I’m thinking the Force could just about pull this one off in the circumstances. Let’s dream, anyway….
Western Force v Bulls Saturday, 23 April 2011 8.05pm WAST 10.05pm AEST
Western Force: 1. Pek Cowan 2. Ben Whittaker 3. Matt Dunning 4. Sam Wykes 5. Nathan Sharpe 6. Richard Brown 7. Jono Jenkins 8. Ben McCalman 9. Brett Sheehan 10. Willie Ripia 11. Rory Sidey 12. James O’Connor 13. Pat Dellit 14. Nick Cummins 15. Cameron Shepherd. Reserves: 16. Nathan Charles 17. Kieran Longbottom 18. Tom Hockings 19. Tevita Metuisela 20. Mark Swanepoel 21. Mark Bartholomeusz 22. Alfie Mafi.
Bulls: 1. Dean Greyling 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle 3. Werner Kruger 4. Bakkies Botha 5. Victor Matfield 6. Deon Stegmann 7. Dewald Potgieter 8. Pierre Spies 9. Fourie du Preez 10. Morne Steyn 11. Francois Hougaard 12. Wynand Olivier 13. Stephan Dippenaar 14. Bjorn Basson 15. Zane Kirchner. Reserves: 16. Gary Botha 17. Rossouw de Klerk 18. Flip van der Merwe 19. Danie Russouw 20. Derick Kuün 21. Jaco van der Westhuyzen 22. Francois Brummer.
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Andrew Lees (Australia), Julian Pritchard (Australia)
Television match official: Matt Goddard (Australia)
