Ken Borland

The Bulls have discovered that, so far, rugby in the Northern Hemisphere has been all about tempo, reacting quickly to breakdowns and ensuring you cover the whole field in defence, and Edinburgh, their United Rugby Championship opponents on Saturday, will put their learnings to a comprehensive examination at Murrayfield.

Edinburgh enjoy playing at pace and keeping ball-in-hand, always looking to get their strike-runners involved. But, as the Stormers showed in drawing with them last weekend despite conceding two tries in the first six minutes, defending with physicality, commitment and alacrity can frustrate them.

“Edinburgh want to speed up the game and throw the ball around, so it’s all about covering the field quicker,” Bulls backline star Cornal Hendricks said on the defensive priorities against the side coached by Scotland’s most-capped scrumhalf, Mike Blair. “They take quick-taps as well, so whenever they have ball-in-hand then our player 10 metres back must react by going for the guy with the ball.

“We have to organise our defence to spread, so it’s important to scan properly and be aware of the whole width of the field. They don’t want to go through you, they want to go around you,” Hendricks said.

Bulls captain and flank Marcell Coetzee also pointed to the speed at which Edinburgh want to play, but also singled out the breakdowns as being vital.

“I think sides over here have identified taking on the South African teams with tempo, which we aren’t really used to back home. Although Edinburgh have a very good set-piece foundation and kicking game as well, they have brought in a lot of tempo.

“That’s what Gregor Townsend [Scotland head coach] is trying to implement and we have to adapt and shut it down. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s a breakdown battle.

“It’s all about reaction speed and we tended to turn over our ball on the second phase. We need to be quicker to commit and read the breakdowns better. You’ve got to work on your second, third, fourth phase as well,” Coetzee said.

This was obviously something the Bulls got right in the second half of last weekend’s win over Cardiff Blues, which sealed the most impressive of comebacks from 3-16 down.

“As soon as we were able to get time and space, that’s when the breakdowns changed for us. And as soon as we got front-foot ball, got our carries going, then we put them under pressure, which led to penalties for us,” Coetzee added.

That sounds like it has the makings of a game-plan to use against Edinburgh as well, sucking them into a collisions battle of which they probably don’t want to be part.

Ruan Pienaar is a highly experienced man when it comes to playing against European opposition and the scrumhalf said on Tuesday that the Sharks dare not give Cardiff Blues any weak points to exploit in their defence as they meet on the 4G pitch at the Arms Park on Saturday.

South African teams are starting to come to terms with playing on artificial turf in the UK, and the Cardiff Blues are known for their attacking style on their fast-paced home surface. Plus, having lost to the Bulls last weekend via a dramatic second-half comeback, they will be taking nothing for granted on Saturday.

“Cardiff will be disappointed to have two losses on the bounce,” Pienaar said, “and I think they felt in control in the first half of their match against the Bulls. They are a good team, so they will be desperate to bounce back.

“They have a lot of dangerous players and if we give them time on the ball and let them dictate the tempo, then it will be a really tough challenge against them.

“You’ve got to be clinical and really accurate on those pitches because the game is a lot faster and the tempo much higher. We’ve got to be on-point defensively or their dangerous back three will hurt us.

“Rhys Priestland pulls the strings really well for them at flyhalf and it’s tough on a 4G pitch to defend breaches if they get through your line,” Pienaar said.

The former Ulster stalwart said the Sharks’ performance on Saturday will need to have the same properties they showed in convincingly beating the Ospreys last weekend, also with a brilliant second-half display.

“Against the Ospreys we played in the right areas, our discipline was good and we took our chances. We responded very well to our first two losses and you have to adapt to how the referees blow over here.

“Playing first up against Munster was always going to be a tough introduction, a massive learning curve because they are a very good team and especially difficult at Thomond Park.

“Our discipline let us down against them and there were costly errors, but against Glasgow Warriors, if we had done one or two things differently, then it could have been a different story.

“It’s a completely different way of playing over here, but we have been fortunate to have really good weather, normally it is quite miserable already at this time of year. I played here for a long time, you know the opposition is going to be really well coached and our key decision-makers are crucial,” Pienaar said.

Midfield kingpin Damian de Allende warned on Saturday that the Springbok defence is back at its best, even though the All Blacks were able to just slip from their grasp in the closing moments of their Rugby Championship Test in Townsville, sneaking a 19-17 win through a last-ditch Jordie Barrett penalty.

A stout defensive effort by the Springboks frustrated and harried the All Blacks, who were definitely frazzled and made many uncharacteristic handling errors. It was pressure rugby at its best, but unfortunately South Africa’s lack of attacking intent meant they were unable to capitalise.

“Our defence was much better than in the last two weeks, it was pretty solid and we were dominant in our hits. We got the detail right – they were very good at attacking from set-piece, they move the ball well in contact, but I think we adapted well. New Zealand are a very potent attacking threat but we scrambled well.

“I thought we controlled the tempo of the game quite well, we got into the game nicely, we were dominant. But it was just heartbreaking in the end and I feel we deserved a bit more. But against the Lions we got the last penalty, Australia did it against us and now tonight it’s happened too. But we will keep working hard and hopefully the advantage will turn our way in the next close game,” De Allende said on Saturday.

Kwagga Smith made coach Jacques Nienaber look like a wise old owl with his selection of him as starting flank, the former Springbok Sevens star producing a series of crucial contributions at the breakdown. Smith was at the forefont of a massive effort to restore the pride of the world champions, and All Blacks coach Ian Foster admitted afterwards he was relieved to survive what he called a “ruthless and clinical” onslaught.

Smith promised more of the same next weekend against the same team. “We had real hunger before this game because last week was not a great performance. I think we played well and we were unlucky to fall short. Next weekend is our last game before a break, so I’ll give my all on the field, everyone can leave it all out there,” Smith said.

Bulls coach Jake White praised his team for producing almost the perfect game in their record Currie Cup final win over the Sharks on Saturday night: forwards and backs were in unison, the attack was clinical and the defence showed no weakness. And he believes their performance has given them huge confidence and cohesion as they head to Europe.

The Bulls battered the Sharks 44-10 at Loftus Versfeld, the biggest winning margin ever in a Currie Cup final, and the scoreline did not flatter them, so complete was their performance.

“Our captain, Marcell Coetzee, was saying that everything felt so composed and in synch, the backs and forwards just working slickly together. That was very close to the perfect game based on getting chances and making sure we take them, no soft moments in defence and we did not give away many penalties. That’s how you play rugby and it’s going to create massive confidence and cohesion going forward.

“When we play like we did tonight then I’m sure everyone at this incredibly proud union is very happy. To get that composure from what is a young side is very pleasing and it felt like we were in control the whole time. I’m also very happy that in the last two weeks there has been a definite progression in our game; that’s what you want to see – that at the back end of the competition you get better,” White said after the Bulls defended their title in emphatic fashion.

The value of aggressive defence was once again clearly shown as the Sharks dominated possession and territory in the first half, but foundered on the rock of the eager Bulls tackling. The Sharks trailed 19-3 at halftime and the result of the final was all but settled.

“That first set of defence, against attack after attack, and then after 12 phases we get the turnover and the penalty, kick it downfield and then score a try from first phase – it does not get better than that, taking your first chance in a final. Big moments are crucial in finals, but they don’t just happen on attack, but in defence too.

“The Sharks wanted to have a go at us, but we could counter that because we were able to defend and keep our shape, and not allow them to get around us. Altitude catches you and then when they were dead on their feet, we were able to pounce. But it was our defence that gave us the ability to counter-punch. I’m very proud for us to have won back-to-back Currie Cups now,” White said.