Nick Taylor
The West Australian
There was plenty of talk about 2015 being a renaissance year for the Western Force after their season-opening win over reigning champions the Waratahs.
Since then there has been plenty of talk about what has amounted so far to a false dawn. But finally it seems the players have said that the time for talking is over, albeit maybe a bit too late.
Now is a time of desperation as the Force face a massive uphill task of breaking a four-game losing streak against the Bulls at their "fortress" Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.
Winger Marcel Brache says the players must take responsibility for the poor start. "We've had a couple of discussions but discussion can only take you so far," Brache said. "The coaches give us a game plan. It’s about actually going out there and executing that plan. "It's up to us to make sure we are all on the same page. "It's an attitude thing, we're letting minor moments slip. It's that we have to rectify as players."
The Force must be quicker out of the blocks. In the past two games they have chased the result, playing their best rugby in the second half when it was too late. They must be abrasive early, particularly against the Bulls who are one of the biggest sides in Super Rugby.
"The fast start ... we want to rectify it. Attitude, whatever you want to call it, it's about us going out there and making sure we get out there early. "We want the opportunity to actually close down a game rather than chasing it. "Confidence is still very high. We believe in ourselves as a team even though the results haven't gone out way."
Adding to the task ahead, the Force will face a Bulls side fresh from a bye after an impressive 39-20 win over the Cheetahs two weeks ago. Brache said the Force had to acknowledge the challenge in Pretoria. "The Bulls are a challenge whether they have had a bye or not," he said. "You've got all the elements. Loftus has seen a couple of Super Rugby titles won there, you've got altitude and the game plan that they bring with a big pack and an exciting back line. We have to acknowledge what it is and what we are going up against."
Bull coach Frans Ludeke will have Springbok loose forward Arno Botha back from injury. He is likely to start from the reserves bench. Prop Trevor Nyakane is set to return to his usual loosehead role after playing the first part of the campaign on the other side of the scrum while Marcel van der Merwe will return to the other side of the scrum. Fly-half Jacques-Louis Potgieter is back from injury and will provide cover for Handre Pollard from the bench.
