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Pretoria - After 115 games Victor Matfield has seen it all in Vodacom Super Rugby. He has played at least a dozen times against most of the other teams and regularly beaten them all.
That includes the Crusaders, who awaits the Bulls in Timaru on Saturday.
There is a slight impatient tone in the Bulls captain’s voice when he talks about his team’s apparent impossible task of beating the Crusaders.
The Bulls have not managed to beat the Crusaders in New Zealand during Matfield’s playing days, but they have regularly beaten them at Loftus Versfeld in recent seasons.
“The secret will lie in dictating the tempo of the game. They want to make the game as quick as possible and create unstructured situations and we want to do exactly the opposite,” said Matfield.
“Our success against them has been the result of bringing the tempo down and forcing them into set pieces and first phases.”
That is clearly once again the focus of the defending champions, who are aiming for a fourth consecutive victory over the home team.
“We will have to be very focused and make sure that we force them to play the way we do - not the other way round. They flourish on turnover possession and play towards the open space on the field.
“If we force them to attack from scrums and lineouts, keep things tight on defence and prevent them from getting momentum while off-loading in contact, we have a chance,” said Matfield.
“We have enjoyed a lot of success against them in recent years, so we could do it again.”
The captain conceded that they have to be mindful of all efforts by the Crusaders to break loose the hold if the Bulls do manage to get the upper hand.
“We have to be aware of things like quick lineouts and throws. That means we will have to organise our defence quickly and communicate very well.”
Matfield and Sonny Bill Williams both played for Toulon, but did not play there at the same time. The Bulls captain therefore has little first-hand knowledge of the All Black centre.
“We know of him, but it’s not a big deal for us. Ma’a Nonu has been as good for years and I think we kept him at bay very well over the weekend,” said Matfield.
“We will also have to keep a watch on other danger men such as Robbie Fruean and Israel Dagg. Not to mention Daniel Carter. But as we saw against the Hurricanes, the individuals struggle when you put pressure on the pack.”
Matfield, however realises that the Crusaders won’t easily be knocked down.
“They are definitely different to the Hurricanes, who had little confidence. We could create uncertainty in the ranks of the Hurricanes quite easily. But the Crusaders are playing with a lot of confidence,” he said.
“There is a lot of width in their game and we will have to pressurise them with our defence.”
Pretoria - After 115 games Victor Matfield has seen it all in Vodacom Super Rugby. He has played at least a dozen times against most of the other teams and regularly beaten them all.
That includes the Crusaders, who awaits the Bulls in Timaru on Saturday.
There is a slight impatient tone in the Bulls captain’s voice when he talks about his team’s apparent impossible task of beating the Crusaders.
The Bulls have not managed to beat the Crusaders in New Zealand during Matfield’s playing days, but they have regularly beaten them at Loftus Versfeld in recent seasons.
“The secret will lie in dictating the tempo of the game. They want to make the game as quick as possible and create unstructured situations and we want to do exactly the opposite,” said Matfield.
“Our success against them has been the result of bringing the tempo down and forcing them into set pieces and first phases.”
That is clearly once again the focus of the defending champions, who are aiming for a fourth consecutive victory over the home team.
“We will have to be very focused and make sure that we force them to play the way we do - not the other way round. They flourish on turnover possession and play towards the open space on the field.
“If we force them to attack from scrums and lineouts, keep things tight on defence and prevent them from getting momentum while off-loading in contact, we have a chance,” said Matfield.
“We have enjoyed a lot of success against them in recent years, so we could do it again.”
The captain conceded that they have to be mindful of all efforts by the Crusaders to break loose the hold if the Bulls do manage to get the upper hand.
“We have to be aware of things like quick lineouts and throws. That means we will have to organise our defence quickly and communicate very well.”
Matfield and Sonny Bill Williams both played for Toulon, but did not play there at the same time. The Bulls captain therefore has little first-hand knowledge of the All Black centre.
“We know of him, but it’s not a big deal for us. Ma’a Nonu has been as good for years and I think we kept him at bay very well over the weekend,” said Matfield.
“We will also have to keep a watch on other danger men such as Robbie Fruean and Israel Dagg. Not to mention Daniel Carter. But as we saw against the Hurricanes, the individuals struggle when you put pressure on the pack.”
Matfield, however realises that the Crusaders won’t easily be knocked down.
“They are definitely different to the Hurricanes, who had little confidence. We could create uncertainty in the ranks of the Hurricanes quite easily. But the Crusaders are playing with a lot of confidence,” he said.
“There is a lot of width in their game and we will have to pressurise them with our defence.”
