But while a number of other sides have tried, and failed, to stop the attacking prowess of Quade Cooper and his scrumhalf captain Will Genia, the Bulls this week believe focussing on just two players could spell their downfall in the last week of their tour.
Bulls backline coach Pieter Rossouw rates the Reds backline as “one of the most dangerous backlines in the competition” but believes if the Bulls keep their faith in their defensive system, then they will be rewarded with a victory.
“They are certainly a dangerous side. They have a lot of speed in their backline, and some of the best steppers in the competition. Rod Davies could be the fastest winger in the Super 14 and with Digby Ioane and Peter Hynes, they certainly have a fast back three,” Rossouw told Supersport.com
“A lot of people concentrate on their halfbacks, but their inside centre Anthony Faingaa is also a danger man, and the 9/10/12 combination gives them a lot of stability to launch their attacks from.”
Rossouw believes however that the Bulls know where the Reds are likely to attack, and just as the Bulls said last week, now is the time “to trust the system” and back the structures the team has already put in place.
“We know they are very dangerous around the ruck area, and that is where they launch many of their attacks from. They get quite a few line breaks from there and once they’ve got over the defensive line, they are very dangerous with that backline,” Rossouw added.
“But we have a very good defensive system. Every team has a way that they will try and attack you and what we do is keep the system the same, but focus on defending certain areas better than others given our information on the opposition.
“One thing we know and expect from them is a high-tempo game. They like to speed up play and play at a fast tempo in the game. We aren’t worried about it, and believe we can match them. We know what we need to do on defence, but we have a pretty good attack ourselves and we won’t get caught up concentrating on just one area.” The Bulls are set to name their side Tuesday, but few changes are expected to the starting line-up.