Bulls will climb to second spot if they stick to their strengths — Van Staden

The Bulls believe if they stick to their strengths and iron out one or two improvements, they will be able to earn bonus-point wins in their last two regular-season matches and finish the United Rugby Championship (URC) league phase in second position.

The Bulls sit third on the URC log after their 26–19 win against Glasgow last weekend. However, they may be able to steal the second spot from Glasgow (one point ahead), who have tricky final matches away to Benetton and URC leaders Leinster.

The Bulls, coming from a fantastic tour in Europe where they won three out of four games and made history along the way, have relatively easier fixtures at home against fifth-placed Cardiff on Saturday (kick-off 4pm) and then last-placed Dragons next week.

Finishing second would mean a home play-off against the team finishing seventh.

“We had a very good tour, a very hard tour,” said loose forward Marco van Staden. “The two big games, Munster and Glasgow, [were] two weeks in a row. So I think the break afterwards was very good for us, resting the bodies a bit.”

Bulls target bonus point wins

He said the Bulls were back in training this week, trying to find the same intensity they had two weeks ago.

“We’re focusing on the whole process, things that have been working for us. If we do that well, those five points in both games will come.

“It’s not going to be easy, we first have to win the game before we start thinking of five points. That is why we just focus on things we have been doing good and see where we can improve, because there are still a lot of improvements from the Munster and Glasgow games.”

The 29-year-old Springbok said one of these was killing the chances presented to them. “I think we waste maybe a lot of opportunities that we create, not finishing.”

What has worked for the Bulls this season

That said, the Bulls have won 12 of their 16 games for good reason, building momentum from scrum and maul dominance and showing resilience in defence against tough sides.

In one or two games, the Bulls had to hold on near the death or snatch a win in the last minute, showing their tenacity and never-say-die attitude. For instance, the Bulls won a scrum turnover to earn the match-winning penalty kick in extra time against Leinster in March. They also had tight wins against Glasgow, Munster, Stormers and Edinburgh in this URC season.

Van Staden said it was important to recognise what was working. “We want to play like we’ve been playing when we were very successful. We just want to carry that forward. We want to prove the fundamentals we have.”