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Pretoria - Bulls captain Victor Matfield is not perturbed that the Blues believe they have found the answer to stopping the rolling maul ahead of this weekend’s Super 14 showdown in Auckland.
After the Lions scored two tries in their game against the Highlanders from the rolling maul, the spotlight has been squarely on the way South African teams use the maul to their advantage, with the defending Super 14 champions one of the best examples.
But while the Blues, who were unlucky to lose to the Brumbies this past weekend, are looking for redemption in the fact they have never been beaten in Super 14 history in Auckland by the Bulls, they may encounter a Bulls side ready to thwart them in other ways, rather than the maul.
Matfield smiled on Tuesday when asked about the rolling maul, which has dominated newspaper headlines in the New Zealand city the last few days.
“Its the way it works,” he said, “After the Lions scored their two tries, the whole of New Zealand has been talking about it and the way the South African teams use it as an attacking weapon while New Zealand teams haven’t used it for a while.
“I think we’re about to see that change over the next month and they’re certainly going to focus some energy on trying to stop us from driving against them. But we’re a team that prides ourselves on being able to adapt, and we will adapt if necessary and try something else if that doesn’t work.”
This Bulls side may well be the closest thing in the competition to a complete unit, and while the Blues are focussing much of their attention on the maul, they perhaps should rather note the majority of the Bulls tries this season have been scored by backline players and not traditionally by forwards as in the past.
But Blues coach Pat Lam told New Zealand media on Tuesday he felt his side had a plan to stop the Bulls maul.
"We've been working on it, and it's not unstoppable," he said. "Like any move, everyone's got to do their role, and be very clear about what it is. While it's a big part of their game, it's an area that if we work together is stoppable."
“The most important thing is you have got to have your system ... It's when players go in individually to try stop it they've got no show," said Lam.
"You have to work as a unit. It's just like scrummaging. If one guy pushes in the scrum and others aren't, you're wasting your time. It's a system and guys need to stick with it."
