Spies: We're backing ourselves

The Pretoria outfit square up against their hosts in a playoff clash in Christchurch on Saturday as they go in search of a place in the semifinals.

“Quarter-final rugby is about how you handle pressure and how you exude pressure,” Spies said on Wednesday.

“It is obviously a challenge to play the Crusaders at home but we are looking past that.”

The last encounter between the two sides was a battle of attrition, with the Bulls narrowly edging the Crusaders 32-30 at Loftus Versfeld.

A small storm, however, erupted afterwards over two eye-gouging allegations were made against the Crusaders.

The claims have since been refuted and the Bulls were adamant this week they had buried the hatchet.

"We've already played against them this year and it will be a tough game," Spies said, "but we are backing ourselves."