Vodacom Super Rugby
Matfield: Now I can sleep
2011-05-01 22:45
Victor Matfield (Gallo Images)
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Pretoria - Bulls captain Victor Matfield said that he would sleep much easier than the previous time his team enjoyed a week off during the Super Rugby competition.
Speaking after his team's 43-27 victory over the Chiefs at Loftus on Saturday, the Springbok stalwart admitted that he would have fewer worries during the break than he had after his side suffered a 35-28 loss to the Highlanders.
"Hopefully I can sleep a bit better this week," said Matfield.
"The last time I didn't sleep for a week so we will take this time with our families, but then we have to get back to business as we are still under pressure and we are very low on the log."
Staying true to the team's philosophy of taking it week-by-week, Matfield insisted that their come-from-behind win would not be seen as a turning point in the season.
"We are not looking at it like that.
"Nothing has turned - we just have to win another game in two weeks time and that is the game against the Rebels."
Following their tough tour, during which they only managed to win one of four matches, Bulls coach Frans Ludeke admitted that there were some lessons his men could learn from the losses they suffered.
"Obviously we believe that something good can come from every situation," said Ludeke.
"We worked hard and there were a lot of areas in our game that we sorted out, so hopefully we can build on that.
"When you lose, a team that has character digs deep and they just get closer."
Ludeke also made a tough call ahead of the Chiefs battle by demoting star wing Bjorn Basson to the bench for arriving late at a team meeting.
Basson was replaced by Akona Ndungane who played superbly in his first start of the season.
Ludeke would not, however, go into detail about his decision to punish the Springbok speedster.
"I think we have sorted it, it was a big call.
"Obviously it worked out for the best for the side as well.
"It is a small thing, but we had to act on it."
The Bulls had no major injury concerns to report after their match against the Chiefs.