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Ludeke has recipe for success

JJ Harmse

Pretoria – The seven tries against Griquas, with most of them coming from first phase possession, shows how dangerous the Blue Bulls can be when they get their backline going.

But that does not mean that the team will suddenly head to Durban intent on playing “running rugby”, coach Frans Ludeke said after his team started their preparations for the Currie Cup semifinal against the Sharks.

“We have our way of playing. There is some variation at times as you saw against Griquas, but it was noticeable because we played the rugby in the right areas of the field. We have always played that way,” said the coach who is aiming for his third successive final.

Ludeke has not lost a semifinal since taking the reins at the Blue Bulls and is confident that the team can play the total rugby that is needed to beat the Sharks.

“Our way of playing is old news. The focus this week will be on sharpening up some aspects rather than to try new things. Exerting pressure in the right areas of the field is the recipe we use to achieve success,” said Ludeke.

He was happy that Griquas, who counter-attack in similar fashion to the Sharks, tested the Bulls’ defensive line.

There were some problems in the scrums against Griquas early on, but this was rather down to the Bulls’ inability to adapt to referee Jonathan Kaplan’s instructions rather than anything Griquas did.

Kaplan went as far as tapping the props on the shoulders before they went in for the hit.

Bulls prop Werner Kruger admitted that it was frustrating at first.

“In previous games that he refereed us there was a lengthy “pause” and this time even a “wait” before we could hit. We have to train to be able to adapt to different calls,” said Kruger.

Meanwhile, Ludeke has said that a final decision on the availability of loose forwards Pierre Spies and Deon Stegmann will be made on Tuesday.

“Pierre did not train and Steggies didn’t do the sprints, so we will give them until Tuesday to recover so that they can be considered when I pick the team. I’m satisfied that the team has enough momentum for the week ahead.”

 
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