Ken Borland

Vodacom Blue Bulls captain Deon Stegmann said his team is starting to believe they can still be strong contenders for the Absa Currie Cup trophy after they warmed up for the semi-finals with a 46-12 victory over GWK Griquas at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend.

The Bulls finished the round-robin phase of the competition in fourth place and will therefore have to travel down to Cape Town to take on table-topping Western Province in their semi-final next Saturday. The Bulls won just six of their 10 regular-season games, but three of those have been in the last three weeks and there is a definite sense of late momentum building at Loftus Versfeld after a poor start to the campaign.

“All the criticism has pulled the guys together and we are really starting to believe,” Stegmann said after the victory over Griquas. “We’ve become a band of brothers, we have each other’s backs, and it’s a good feeling to have everything come together now at the end of the competition.”

The Bulls suffered a blow at the weekend with hard-hitting inside centre Burger Odendaal, probably their find of the season, suffering a suspected broken arm. It might just work in their favour, however, with Handre Pollard possibly moving into the number 12 jersey and the Bulls fielding two tactical kickers in him and flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter in what will surely be a tense, tight knockout game against Western Province.

“Unfortunately, Burger’s injury looks serious, maybe a broken arm. He’s made huge steps this year, he’s a real threat on the gain-line and he gives the forwards a lot of momentum. He’s also very creative, it’s what you need in midfield,” coach Frans Ludeke said before confirming that either Pollard or regular fullback Ulrich Beyers, who moved to inside centre during the game, will take Odendaal’s place for the semi-final because Dries Swanepoel is injured.

With wing Bjorn Basson returning to form with a sparkling all-round display against Griquas that included scoring a hat-trick, Western Province should be warned that the Bulls have some dangerous weapons for knockout rugby.

Basson is the best player in the air in South Africa and with both Pollard and Potgieter possibly playing, there is the threat of an aerial bombardment for the hosts to deal with, and their record in the past in that facet of play is not all that flash.

Pollard is also a tremendous threat with ball in hand, as he showed again in the final quarter against Griquas, while the Bulls pack is in great form at the set-pieces and is always difficult to stop once their fearsome ball-carriers get on the front foot.

“That we were able to come back from a backs-to-the-wall situation this season reflects well on the leadership. This was our final run before the playoffs and we created a lot of opportunities, even though there were lots of mistakes, but that’s just eagerness by the players. As we’ve seen, if we just stay patient, the results will come.

“I was impressed with Deon and how he mixed things up on attack, we were able to keep Griquas guessing on the gain-line and we got good momentum there. That last try, when Pollard chipped over the top, was something different and that’s exactly what you need.

“Plus Bjorn had a great game, he showed how dangerous he is in broken field. He’s experienced, he’s a Test player so he’ll be used to the pressure at Newlands, and he creates opportunities,” Ludeke said.

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw said yesterday that he is looking forward to taking on the Springboks at Ellis Park, which he described as a top-class venue.

Last year’s meeting between the two sides at the same stadium was a classic, with New Zealand producing a strong finish to win 38-27, and McCaw said he is hoping for a similarly thrilling encounter.

“Playing against the Springboks at Ellis Park is one of the ultimate challenges of Test footy. The atmosphere is great, it’s never easy to play here, it’s pretty daunting but that’s the sort of atmosphere you want to play in. I hope it’s a dry day because both sides want to have a crack,” McCaw said after the All Blacks’ captain’s run was cut short by a thundershower at Ellis Park yesterday.

While today’s Test will mark a special milestone for McCaw as he passes the legendary Colin Meads’ mark of 133 games for the All Blacks, the loose forward typically deflected attention to the team performance.

“Afterwards that might be something to reflect on, but it’s exciting enough just playing the Boks at Ellis Park. It will be nice to sit back and reflect on the game after a good performance,” McCaw said.

The World Cup-holding captain also dismissed the suggestion that the Springboks would bring a one-dimensional game plan to the final game of the Rugby Championship.

“I think they’ll show intent to use the ball when the opportunity presents itself. It was pretty greasy in Wellington, but they still showed intent then. We need to stop them from doing that,” McCaw said.

Whatever the outcome, the Test is bound to add to the history of Springboks/All Blacks clashes and the special bond that exists between the two nations across the Indian Ocean.

“There’s a lot of respect between the All Blacks and the Springboks and, whatever the outcome, I’m sure we’ll have a beer afterwards,” the highly-respected skipper said.

Springbok captain Jean de Villiers praised his team for standing up in the last 10 minutes and beating Australia in their Rugby Championship Test in Cape Town, putting aside the disappointment of two narrow defeats overseas.

South Africa lost 23-24 in Perth against Australia and 10-14 to New Zealand in Wellington, and looked on their way to another close loss when they trailed 8-10 going into the last 10 minutes at Newlands.

But a scintillating finish saw the Springboks score three tries to complete a 28-10 victory that was flattering if one considered how they struggled in the first hour to make headway against a brave Australian team.

“You will have disappointments along the way, as in life, but the important thing is the way you respond to it. We didn’t play badly abroad, a couple of things went against us and we lost. But part of the process is working on our mistakes; the goal is the World Cup next year, but we want to see if we can improve every week.

“The way we stuck together in the last 10 minutes, we showed intent and that’s how we want to play. All 23 players put their hands up and it was probably in the top 10 of best games I’ve played in, it was a special performance,” De Villiers, who scored two of the three late tries, said.

That the Springboks were able to up the tempo at the end of the match, with the Wallabies visibly tiring, was down to the massive impact made by their bench and the squad’s improved conditioning.

“The bench were brilliant, they were able to up the tempo. Sometimes I get criticised for choosing older guys, but I think it was the right decision to go for more experience on the bench. Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Bismarck du Plessis, Pat Lambie and JP Pietersen were all very good and they made an unbelievably big difference,” coach Heyneke Meyer said.

“I always put an unbelievable emphasis on fitness because you just don’t have the time with the Springboks, but we’re almost there. This result was great for the fitness because there was no way we could have come back at the end without it. The Wallabies had flown to Cape Town and we threw the ball around in the last 10 minutes and it worked.”

Outstanding eighthman Duane Vermeulen, who was the Springboks’ best player before injuring his ribs, and veteran wing Bryan Habana (blow to the head) are the two injury concerns for the Test against the All Blacks in Johannesburg this weekend.

“if we play like we did tonight – exactly how we planned, sticking to our structures in the first 60/70 minutes and then breaking them down in the last 10 – then we’ll have a good shot next week. We were close against the All Blacks in Wellington and we just didn’t get there, but we just need to make sure we prepare well and put the hard work in this week,” De Villiers said.