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Cape Town - Bulls captain Pierre Spies says they are highly motivated to prove all their critics - who gave them no chance against the Crusaders - wrong.
Most local and international scribes believe the Crusaders will cruise past the men from Pretoria in their Super Rugby playoff in Christchurch on Saturday.
But Spies says they know they can do the job against the New Zealanders.
"It gives us all the motivation in the world," he told Beeld from Christchurch.
"As a group we understand who and what we are, and who brought us to this stage. We are definitely good enough to win here and progress further in the series."
The Bulls will also take heart from their recent playoff success against the Crusaders. They have beaten the New Zealanders in their last three playoff clashes, although all three encounters were played in South Africa.
In 2007 the Bulls won the semi-final 27-12 at Loftus Versfeld; in 2009 they won 36-23 at Loftus, and in 2010 they ran out 39-24 victors at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
The Crusaders won the 2006 semi-final 35-15 in Christchurch.
The game kicks off at 09:35 SA time on Saturday.
Teams:
Crusaders:
15 Israel Dagg, 14 Adam Whitelock, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Richie McCaw (captain), 7 Matt Todd, 6 George Whitelock, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Substitutes: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Luke Whitelock, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Tom Taylor, 22 Sean Maitland
Bulls:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Jacques Potgieter, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Deon Stegmann, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Francois Venter
Most local and international scribes believe the Crusaders will cruise past the men from Pretoria in their Super Rugby playoff in Christchurch on Saturday.
But Spies says they know they can do the job against the New Zealanders.
"It gives us all the motivation in the world," he told Beeld from Christchurch.
"As a group we understand who and what we are, and who brought us to this stage. We are definitely good enough to win here and progress further in the series."
The Bulls will also take heart from their recent playoff success against the Crusaders. They have beaten the New Zealanders in their last three playoff clashes, although all three encounters were played in South Africa.
In 2007 the Bulls won the semi-final 27-12 at Loftus Versfeld; in 2009 they won 36-23 at Loftus, and in 2010 they ran out 39-24 victors at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
The Crusaders won the 2006 semi-final 35-15 in Christchurch.
The game kicks off at 09:35 SA time on Saturday.
Teams:
Crusaders:
15 Israel Dagg, 14 Adam Whitelock, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Richie McCaw (captain), 7 Matt Todd, 6 George Whitelock, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Substitutes: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Luke Whitelock, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Tom Taylor, 22 Sean Maitland
Bulls:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Jacques Potgieter, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Deon Stegmann, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Francois Venter
