Ruan Nortjé warns Bulls not to ‘switch off’ against Munster in URC title quest

Having lost out on the Challenge Cup trophy, the Bulls now have all their eggs in the United Rugby Championship basket – and they need to make it count.

Having lost the 2022 final to the Stormers in Cape Town and last year’s title decider to Glasgow at Loftus Versfeld, will it be a case of third time lucky for the Pretoria side if they make it to the championship match on June 14?

Well, that journey will go into overdrive from Saturday, when they take on fifth-placed Munster in Limerick (6.15pm start).

Jake White’s team are third on 50 points, four behind Glasgow, whom they face in Scotland next weekend.

The Warriors won’t have an easy time against Zebre in Parma on Saturday night, so even if they pull off a win, they are unlikely to get a bonus point.

So, it is imperative for the Bulls to emerge victorious at Thomond Park if they hope to seriously challenge for second place on the log behind Leinster, who are on 62.

“It’s most important to get that continuity between the players. We know that over the last two or three months, we have been under a lot of pressure, and have had a lot of injuries,” captain Ruan Nortjé said this week.

“I think if we can build a bit of continuity between combinations and players, it will help a lot to get us to that place to play our best rugby.

“I hope we can build continuity, remain injury-free.

“We as players can also lift our standards, and it starts in the practices and it’s something we can keep pushing until the end of the season.”

But they will have to remedy the shortcomings that cost them a possible victory over Edinburgh. Their lineout malfunctioned at critical stages, they slipped too many tackles, and they lost the breakdown battle.

The Pretoria side woke up too late in a second-half comeback, and will have to be much sharper from the opening whistle in front of what is sure to be another partisan crowd in a hostile atmosphere in Limerick.

“It’s sometimes maybe... you tend to switch off. I can’t say why, but sometimes it just happens, and that puts you under more pressure,” the six-Test Springbok lock said.

“We know how massive the game is to get momentum, and we’ve got to be sharp for 80 minutes; otherwise, we are going to struggle.

“I really hope it will (bring the best out of the Bulls). Time will tell.

“So, I think the biggest thing for us is to get a good week behind ourselves, and make sure when Saturday comes, we are ready to give it all and play the way we know we can.

“In the game, it feels like things are happening 10 times faster than it really does. So, I think for me, it’s all about staying calm.

“As captain, one can come up with solutions quicker, to do something else, or to make the game much slower.

“Obviously there are a lot of voices from different sides, so for me, it’s just all about staying calm and trying to feed off the guys around me.

“They also have a lot of experience, and then trying to make the best decision on the field.

“You have to give credit to Munster. The last two weeks (in the Champions Cup), they’ve been brilliant.

“It’s almost like they found their feet again the right time, at the back-end of the competition.”