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J.J. Harmse
Pretoria - Bulls wing Bjorn Basson wasn't aware he will equal Bryan Habana's try-scoring record if he manages to score against the Waratahs on Friday.
That firstly says something about the player's focus and secondly about the team culture - that the team's best interest's are put ahead of that of an individual.
Basson made it clear upon arriving from Kimberley that he would like to deliver what the Bulls are paying him for - tries. To date he has managed it in sometimes spectacular fashion. He has scored eight tries, with five of them coming in the last six games.
The fact that he does not place ticks behind each try or counts them, but is rather focused on his task, spells trouble for the Aussies.
But the Waratahs are equally as desperate the Bulls and also know that whichever team loses will suffer a blow to their chances of a playoff place. But whether they know what is awaiting them with a focused Basson on the field is a different question as they appear to be concentrating on other Bulls players.
Waratahs coach Chris Hickey may have unwittingly lost the psychological battle when he said at the announcement of the team that they would have to adapt to counter the Bulls' lineout play.
He moved lock Dean Mumm to flank and it's clear that they want to take the home side on up front. That may give Basson and his fellow backline players the opportunity to make the visitors pay the price.
For most South Africans the thought that an Australian team would want to tame the Bulls up front sounds far-fetched, but to Victor Matfield it's not so strange.
"It's not a bad Waratahs pack at all. We saw last week how they dominated the Sharks in the scrums and there are a number of Wallabies in the pack," said Matfield, who is the most experienced captain in Super Rugby.
"It's not going to be so easy for us to dominate them. There are a few areas of our game with which we could take them on. Our lineout drives are working well and our scrumming is good. The execution of our game plan is also good," said Matfield, who will captain his side for a 73rd time.
Matfield and Danie Rossouw, who will ask plenty of questions of the Aussies on defence, will become the Bulls' most experienced players. They will be running out in a Bulls jersey for the 114th time.
"I will still decide whether I will let Danie run in front," joked Matfield.
"But considering how eager Danie is to get on the field these days, he may pass me before we reach the field."
Rossouw said: "We have won nothing and there are a few important weeks ahead of us."
Meanwhile, Akona Ndungane has not recovered in time from a chest injury and will be replaced by Gerhard van den Heever in the starting line-up. Stephan Dippenaar will be on the bench.
Teams:
Bulls:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Dewald Potgieter, 20 Dustin Jinka, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Stephan Dippenaar
Waratahs:
15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Tom Carter, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Soseni Anesi, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Dean Mumm (captain), 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson
Substitutes: 16 Paddy Ryan, 17 John Ulugia, 18 Pat O'Connor, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Hugh Perrett, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Atieli Pakalani
Pretoria - Bulls wing Bjorn Basson wasn't aware he will equal Bryan Habana's try-scoring record if he manages to score against the Waratahs on Friday.
That firstly says something about the player's focus and secondly about the team culture - that the team's best interest's are put ahead of that of an individual.
Basson made it clear upon arriving from Kimberley that he would like to deliver what the Bulls are paying him for - tries. To date he has managed it in sometimes spectacular fashion. He has scored eight tries, with five of them coming in the last six games.
The fact that he does not place ticks behind each try or counts them, but is rather focused on his task, spells trouble for the Aussies.
But the Waratahs are equally as desperate the Bulls and also know that whichever team loses will suffer a blow to their chances of a playoff place. But whether they know what is awaiting them with a focused Basson on the field is a different question as they appear to be concentrating on other Bulls players.
Waratahs coach Chris Hickey may have unwittingly lost the psychological battle when he said at the announcement of the team that they would have to adapt to counter the Bulls' lineout play.
He moved lock Dean Mumm to flank and it's clear that they want to take the home side on up front. That may give Basson and his fellow backline players the opportunity to make the visitors pay the price.
For most South Africans the thought that an Australian team would want to tame the Bulls up front sounds far-fetched, but to Victor Matfield it's not so strange.
"It's not a bad Waratahs pack at all. We saw last week how they dominated the Sharks in the scrums and there are a number of Wallabies in the pack," said Matfield, who is the most experienced captain in Super Rugby.
"It's not going to be so easy for us to dominate them. There are a few areas of our game with which we could take them on. Our lineout drives are working well and our scrumming is good. The execution of our game plan is also good," said Matfield, who will captain his side for a 73rd time.
Matfield and Danie Rossouw, who will ask plenty of questions of the Aussies on defence, will become the Bulls' most experienced players. They will be running out in a Bulls jersey for the 114th time.
"I will still decide whether I will let Danie run in front," joked Matfield.
"But considering how eager Danie is to get on the field these days, he may pass me before we reach the field."
Rossouw said: "We have won nothing and there are a few important weeks ahead of us."
Meanwhile, Akona Ndungane has not recovered in time from a chest injury and will be replaced by Gerhard van den Heever in the starting line-up. Stephan Dippenaar will be on the bench.
Teams:
Bulls:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Dewald Potgieter, 20 Dustin Jinka, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Stephan Dippenaar
Waratahs:
15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Tom Carter, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Soseni Anesi, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Dean Mumm (captain), 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson
Substitutes: 16 Paddy Ryan, 17 John Ulugia, 18 Pat O'Connor, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Hugh Perrett, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Atieli Pakalani
