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Pretoria – Dewald Potgieter has not yet decided whether he will accept a friend request from Francois Louw on Facebook.
The two will be in camp together from Sunday when the Springboks start their preparations for the Test against Wales on June 5.
In fact, as the two flanks in that Test they will be expect to hunt the ball shoulder to shoulder and to support one another.
However, when one considers that both have a key role to play in Saturday’s Super 14 final between the Bulls and Stormers at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Potgieter’s hesitation can be understood.
Friendship will have to wait until shortly after 19:00 on Saturday evening once the final has run its course.
The same applies to Danie Rossouw and Andries Bekker, who will be lock partners in the Test against Wales.
Bulls captain Victor Matfield does not believe the Test, in which three Bulls and six Stormers will be involved, will be in the players’ minds.
“We won’t mind if a few of the Stormers are already thinking about the Test, but it won’t happen. The match in Soweto is too big for that for both sides. I know our guys will have the right mental approach,” said Matfield.
Louw and his direct opponent, Deon Stegmann, will be in referee Craig Joubert’s sights, but Matfield believes the referee will treat everybody consistently.
Joubert awarded five penalties against Stegmann in the Bulls’ match against the Blues, but Matfield says they did not have any problem with that.
“Craig helped us in the pre-season and we had good discussions with him after that game and the one against the Reds,” he said.
“If our discipline is good and we don’t concede unnecessary penalties, the referee will have little influence on our way of playing.”
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke backed his captain’s view. “He actually did us a favour because we can adapt and improve to minimise our errors,” he said.
“There won’t be any surprises. The teams understand one another well … it’s about the 80 minutes on the field and the execution of your game plan.”
Matfield said: “Coach always warns against us playing the game beforehand. It’s about managing ourselves in the next day or two and not expending too much energy on thinking about the game.
“The fact that we have been there and most guys played in last year’s final helps that process.”
Pretoria – Dewald Potgieter has not yet decided whether he will accept a friend request from Francois Louw on Facebook.
The two will be in camp together from Sunday when the Springboks start their preparations for the Test against Wales on June 5.
In fact, as the two flanks in that Test they will be expect to hunt the ball shoulder to shoulder and to support one another.
However, when one considers that both have a key role to play in Saturday’s Super 14 final between the Bulls and Stormers at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Potgieter’s hesitation can be understood.
Friendship will have to wait until shortly after 19:00 on Saturday evening once the final has run its course.
The same applies to Danie Rossouw and Andries Bekker, who will be lock partners in the Test against Wales.
Bulls captain Victor Matfield does not believe the Test, in which three Bulls and six Stormers will be involved, will be in the players’ minds.
“We won’t mind if a few of the Stormers are already thinking about the Test, but it won’t happen. The match in Soweto is too big for that for both sides. I know our guys will have the right mental approach,” said Matfield.
Louw and his direct opponent, Deon Stegmann, will be in referee Craig Joubert’s sights, but Matfield believes the referee will treat everybody consistently.
Joubert awarded five penalties against Stegmann in the Bulls’ match against the Blues, but Matfield says they did not have any problem with that.
“Craig helped us in the pre-season and we had good discussions with him after that game and the one against the Reds,” he said.
“If our discipline is good and we don’t concede unnecessary penalties, the referee will have little influence on our way of playing.”
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke backed his captain’s view. “He actually did us a favour because we can adapt and improve to minimise our errors,” he said.
“There won’t be any surprises. The teams understand one another well … it’s about the 80 minutes on the field and the execution of your game plan.”
Matfield said: “Coach always warns against us playing the game beforehand. It’s about managing ourselves in the next day or two and not expending too much energy on thinking about the game.
“The fact that we have been there and most guys played in last year’s final helps that process.”
