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J.J. Harmse
Pretoria - It's no coincidence that the Bulls' revival and Wynand Olivier's improved form have gone hand in hand.
To put it differently, when Olivier struggled to replicate his excellent form of previous seasons earlier this year, the Bulls were lagging at the wrong end of the table.
Five tries in his last four games - among them a hat-trick against the Rebels - has brought good news on both fronts.
When Olivier is on song, the same applies to the Bulls. And Olivier is on song.
"I know that things have not gone particularly well," admitted Olivier, who has now scored 24 tries in 84 games for the Bulls.
It's no coincidence that 3 of those 84 games were finals.
In fact, Olivier has this year played every minute of every game.
"You feel it on your body. I also had some trouble from the groin on which I had surgery in November. It still worries me from time to time and takes a lot longer to warm up, but things are going well now. The fun is back in the game," said Olivier.
All the statistics that are being produced on computers in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa show that Olivier is among the players who make the most tackles in the tournament, that he is among the leaders in terms of yardage gained with the ball in hand and that he regularly carries the ball.
If one examines the statistics, it's clear that he is among the most effective players in his position in the tournament.
However, there was a long night in Timaru and a few forgettable knock-ons that immediately shifted the focus from Olivier's form to his hairstyle.
"I dropped a ball once or twice and considering the high standards of previous seasons it probably wasn't good enough. Fortunately it's in the past and things are going well now," said Olivier.
He hopes to be a thorn in the flesh of his opponents again when the Bulls play the Waratahs on Friday.
It's still uncertain who his opponents will be as the Waratahs are yet to announce their side.
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke already named his team on Tuesday and picked Danie Rossouw on the flank ahead of Dewald Potgieter.
Potgieter moves to the bench, while Akona Ndungane (chest) will have to pass a fitness test on Wednesday if he wants to play. The only other change is the rotation of Gary Botha and Chiliboy Ralepelle.
Both are powerful scrummagers and after the Bulls' strong performance in that regard against the Cheetahs, the knee injury to Sekopu Kepu will be the cause of concern in the Australian visitors' camp. He was injured against the Sharks and sent home.
Al Baxter is expected to play tighthead prop against the Bulls. Baxter is not renowned for his scrumming and the Bulls players will definitely have to exploit that aspect of the Waratahs' game to their advantage.
Berrick Barnes may return at the back if he is able to shake off the after-effects of a bad headache. However, the wisdom of such a move may be questioned, particularly given the player's problems with concussion.
Teams:
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane/Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Jaco Pretoruis, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 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 Gerhard van den Heever/Stephan Dippenaar.
Waratahs:
TBA
Pretoria - It's no coincidence that the Bulls' revival and Wynand Olivier's improved form have gone hand in hand.
To put it differently, when Olivier struggled to replicate his excellent form of previous seasons earlier this year, the Bulls were lagging at the wrong end of the table.
Five tries in his last four games - among them a hat-trick against the Rebels - has brought good news on both fronts.
When Olivier is on song, the same applies to the Bulls. And Olivier is on song.
"I know that things have not gone particularly well," admitted Olivier, who has now scored 24 tries in 84 games for the Bulls.
It's no coincidence that 3 of those 84 games were finals.
In fact, Olivier has this year played every minute of every game.
"You feel it on your body. I also had some trouble from the groin on which I had surgery in November. It still worries me from time to time and takes a lot longer to warm up, but things are going well now. The fun is back in the game," said Olivier.
All the statistics that are being produced on computers in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa show that Olivier is among the players who make the most tackles in the tournament, that he is among the leaders in terms of yardage gained with the ball in hand and that he regularly carries the ball.
If one examines the statistics, it's clear that he is among the most effective players in his position in the tournament.
However, there was a long night in Timaru and a few forgettable knock-ons that immediately shifted the focus from Olivier's form to his hairstyle.
"I dropped a ball once or twice and considering the high standards of previous seasons it probably wasn't good enough. Fortunately it's in the past and things are going well now," said Olivier.
He hopes to be a thorn in the flesh of his opponents again when the Bulls play the Waratahs on Friday.
It's still uncertain who his opponents will be as the Waratahs are yet to announce their side.
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke already named his team on Tuesday and picked Danie Rossouw on the flank ahead of Dewald Potgieter.
Potgieter moves to the bench, while Akona Ndungane (chest) will have to pass a fitness test on Wednesday if he wants to play. The only other change is the rotation of Gary Botha and Chiliboy Ralepelle.
Both are powerful scrummagers and after the Bulls' strong performance in that regard against the Cheetahs, the knee injury to Sekopu Kepu will be the cause of concern in the Australian visitors' camp. He was injured against the Sharks and sent home.
Al Baxter is expected to play tighthead prop against the Bulls. Baxter is not renowned for his scrumming and the Bulls players will definitely have to exploit that aspect of the Waratahs' game to their advantage.
Berrick Barnes may return at the back if he is able to shake off the after-effects of a bad headache. However, the wisdom of such a move may be questioned, particularly given the player's problems with concussion.
Teams:
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane/Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Jaco Pretoruis, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 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 Gerhard van den Heever/Stephan Dippenaar.
Waratahs:
TBA
