Preview: Bulls v Crusaders
Sportal.co.nz - (20/05/2010)
VENUE & TIME: Orlando Stadium, Soweto, Saturday May 22, 17.00 local, (Sunday 23 May 03.00 NZT).
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LAST TIME: May 7, 2010 (Pretoria) – Bulls 40-35 Crusaders (round 13).
LAST TIME AT VENUE: The teams have not previously met at Soweto.
WALKING WOUNDED: The Bulls have lost Gerhard van den Heever and Bakkies Botha to suspensions but the starting XV only shows two changes from the side that faced the Crusaders a fortnight ago. Jaco van der Westhuyzen replaces van den Heever on the wing and Jaco Pretorius, recovered from a facial injury, returns at centre. The Crusaders reintroduced Kahn Fotuali'i to the bench after his one-match stand-down but otherwise named the side that had beaten the Brumbies.
FORM:
PAST FIVE Bulls:
Round 10: Lost to Reds 12-19
Round 11: Beat Lions 51-11
Round 12: Beat Sharks 27-19
Round 13: Beat Crusaders 40-35
Round 14: Lost to Stormers 10-38
PAST FIVE Crusaders:
Round 10: Beat Cheetahs 45-6
Round 11: Lost to Force 16-24
Round 12: Lost to Stormers 14-42
Round 13: Lost to Bulls 35-40
Round 14: Beat Brumbies 40-22
The Bulls have been strong all year and have never been outside the top two after any of the 14 rounds, which says they are both good and consistent. They had to battle against the Crusaders a couple of weeks back but hung in there to collect the points with a try at the death; the try raised all kinds of media talk but the point that was overlooked was that the Bulls recovered to win a match in which they were outplayed for long stretches. Their home form couldn't have been better (seven wins) and they easily topped the season scoring and try tables. The defence did concede plenty of points but a lot of the big scores were in home matches where the men in blue simply piled up bigger ones; the average score at Pretoria this season was 41-27 to the Bulls. The Crusaders finally got out of a rut in the last couple of weeks, even if they didn't win against the Bulls. They certainly played much better rugby in that match than they had for a while and really taxed the Bulls defence, before turning in what was their best effort of the season in dispatching the Brumbies in the must-win round 14 match. The Crusaders scored five tries that night, did not make the sort of mistakes that had cost golden scoring opportunities in previous weeks and looked formidable, especially when they put width on the ball. The Crusaders also scored plenty of points in 2010 – they were second on the scoring list – but gave up a few more than usual. In three of their four defeats the opposition put 40 points on the board although it must be noted that only one bonus point for tries was conceded all year (to the Reds); the alarming thing was the tendency to give up a ton of penalty chances in some games, especially the ones that were lost, and only the Bulls (44 to 42) conceded more penalty goals.
WHO'S HOT: The Bulls will look to their stars, as usual, and these guys have not let the side down in 2010. Perhaps the biggest threat to the Crusaders is Morne Steyn and his booming boot; he drop-kicked them off the park last season and this year is only two points short of the single season scoring record. Steyn does not neglect his backline, where Francois Hougaard has shown some serious speed on the wing; he scored two tries the last time the sides met and for the first easily cleared out from the Crusaders quick men. Pierre Spies will the focus of many eyes; after a devastating start to the season he's faded somewhat, as he did last year, but he is not the sort of player the Crusaders want to recover his form this week. If he fires, he can break the game wide open in minutes. The tight five has impressed all season and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Bulls set piece play. The Crusaders will always look to Daniel Carter in big matches and his general play last week was classy. His goal-kicking radar may need a bit of fine tuning but there are too many instances of him drilling all his goals in a big match to believe he's anything other than a real threat off the tee. Once the ball started to get wide, Zac Guildford played an increasingly important role in the many Crusaders attacks. The Crusaders loose trio, who will play a big part this week, impressed against the Brumbies with Kieran Read a powerful presence in open play and Richie McCaw the dominant loosie on the park. Sam Whitelock had a mighty game and will be asked to carry that form into a huge clash with the experienced Bulls engine-room duo, while the Franks brothers will anchor a solid scrum.
WE THINK: This match should be a ripper but there is always that lurking feeling that the travel might get the Crusaders in the end. They've made the haul across the Indian Ocean twice in the last two weeks and it must take a toll. One suspects the visitors will try to run up an insurmountable lead early and then preserve it, but the Bulls recovered from that sort of start a year ago and won handsomely. We think the Bulls will take the win – Super rugby playoffs are notoriously difficult to win on the road – but that this match will be one of the best all year.
TEAMS:
Bulls: 1.Gurthro Steenkamp, 2.Gary Botha, 3.Werner Kruger, 4. Danie Rossouw, 5.Victor Matfield (captain), 6. Deon Stegmann, 7.Dewald Potgieter, 8.Pierre Spies, 9. Fourie du Preez, 10.Morne Steyn, 11.Francois Hougaard, 12. Wynand Olivier, 13. Jaco Pretorius, 14. Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 15.Zane Kirchner.
Reserves: 16.Bandise Maku, 17.Bees Roux, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Derick Kuun, 20. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 21. Stephan Dippenaar, 22. Pedrie Wannenburg.
Crusaders: 1. Owen Franks, 2. Ti'i Paulo, 3. Ben Franks, 4. Brad Thorn, 5. Sam Whitelock, 6. George Whitelock, 7. Richie McCaw (captain), 8. Kieran Read, 9. Andy Ellis, 10. Daniel Carter, 11. Zac Guildford, 12. Daniel Bowden, 13. Robbie Fruean, 14. Sean Maitland, 15. Colin Slade.
Reserves: 16. Dan Perrin, 17. Wyatt Crockett, 18. Chris Jack, 19. Thomas Waldrom, 20. Kahn Fotuali'i, 21. Tim Bateman, 22. Jared Payne.
REFEREE: Stu Dickinson