Comment by Ashfak Mohamed

Beware, Bulls: Saturday’s clash against Zebre looks, feels and smells like a banana-peel game.

The Loftus Versfeld showdown (2.45pm kick-off) has all the makings of an upset.

Zebre may be languishing in the second-last spot on the log, but they have won five out of their 13 games, and nearly knocked over the Sharks in Durban last weekend.

That 35-34 defeat was as close as it gets, so the Italian club will travel to Pretoria confident that they can go one step further and slay the Bulls at Loftus.

Jake White’s team almost let it slip last weekend as well against an under-strength Leinster side missing their Ireland Six Nations players.

But the likes of RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett inspired them to put up an almighty fight, and the Bulls needed a post-hooter scrum penalty and David Kriel’s successful shot at goal to claim a 21-20 triumph.

Some players may have taken umbrage to White’s comments about “stupidity” and “being smarter” in the post-match press conference, in reference to the red and yellow cards conceded, as well as a number of penalties that allowed Leinster into the game.

But the only way they can prove their coach wrong is by responding in convincing fashion against Zebre.

“I don’t think it’s stupidity. I just think sometimes, we get caught off-guard, especially against a team like Leinster, who thrive off quick ball,” Kriel said this week when asked about White’s comments.

“They have a lot of options on attack, and sometimes they just catch us napping, and we stand off some penalties.

“But I don’t think us as a team are stupid, or in any way not smart. I just think sometimes, we are caught napping, or something like that.”

Against Zebre, there won’t be time to be “caught napping”, though. And as much as I am a big fan of attacking rugby and getting the ball to the backline, Saturday’s game calls for a bit of a blunt-force approach.

It is similar to what the Boks had to deal with in their 2019 Rugby World Cup campaign, where they had to beat Italy after losing to Ireland.

The South Africans climbed into the Azzurri physically, bashing them in the scrums and mauls and imposing themselves through powerful carries at close quarters.

In fact, it led to Italy having to replace their starting tighthead prop in the first half, and eventually there were uncontested scrums in the second.

Bok and Sharks captain Siya Kolisi remarked after their 35-34 win over Zebre last Saturday that “they are good at broken play, and we could have lost this game. We made it so hard for ourselves”.

That is exactly what the Bulls need to prevent from happening at Loftus on Saturday. They cannot afford to give Zebre a sniff by chucking the ball around and running from everywhere.

An old-school approach is needed: get tighthead powerhouse Wilco Louw to grind them in the scrums – and hopefully fellow Bok prop Gerhard Steenekamp is back as well this week – and that driving maul must be utilised to full effect.

There were injury concerns around star No 8 Cameron Hanekom (back) and Johan Grobbelaar (shoulder) this week, and fullback Willie le Roux has already been ruled out following Monday’s operation on his neck and shoulder area.

But there is enough back-up in most positions. Nizaam Carr can step up at No 8, Mpilo Gumede is another big loose forward, and Akker van der Merwe can slot in at hooker.

Flyhalf Keagan Johannes should also be encouraged to kick at goal if there are easy points to be taken from penalties, and Embrose Papier should bring the forwards into play off the rucks.

Only once the Zebre pack has been subdued can the Bulls feed their backline.

White said after the Leinster game that his players “need to be smarter”, and that it is something the players have to learn as “you can’t coach him every single thing about his role”.

Let’s hope the players heeded the message this week, and produce the kind of rugby we all know they are capable of.

Meanwhile, the Bulls will have to do without wing Sebastian de Klerk against Zebre on Saturday after he received a two-match ban on Thursday.

The No 14 went chasing after a high ball from the Pretoria side against Leinster last weekend, but only ended up taking out wing Andrew Osborne in the 74th minute.

That means De Klerk will miss out on Saturday’s clash against Zebre at Loftus Versfeld, as well as next weekend’s Challenge Cup last-16 encounter against Bayonne in France.

White has a number of options out wide that he can employ in De Klerk’s absence, including Canan Moodie, Devon Williams and Sergeal Petersen.

#zebre

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