Cape Town - There will be a “little bit of an edge”, but coach Jake White has vowed that his Bulls team won’t be caught cold by Benetton in today’s United Rugby Championship showdown at Loftus Versfeld (2pm kick-off).
Last year’s 35-8 defeat in the Rainbow Cup final in Treviso was a real surprise victory for the Italian club, with the Bulls having been expected to dominate.
But it was a forgettable day for the men from Pretoria, and they will want to gain revenge this afternoon.
The Bulls will be without hard-running centre Harold Vorster, who has tested positive for Covid-19, but White named a capable replacement yesterday in Cornal Hendricks at No 12.
ALSO READ: Former Springbok, Bulls loose forward Pedrie Wannenburg dies in car accident in US
They have also been bolstered by scrumhalf Embrose Papier’s return from concussion, while new prop signing Dylan Smith will be the tighthead cover on the bench.
“I’m definitely not expecting that we are going to get caught the same way we got caught last time – that’s because we can control that. Eleven or 12 of those guys played for the Italian national team that beat Wales in Wales, and that would show you that they have improved,” White said yesterday.
“It gives it a little bit of an edge this week, because we probably got found out when we played them the last time. They played a bit differently to how they had played in the rest of the competition. They showed that they can play – they ran the ball, they can play with their forwards and backs.
“I’m hoping that tomorrow, we are aware of the threats that they can give us. But more importantly, we’ve got to concentrate on what we’ve got to do.
“We’ve got three more games in the comp before the play-offs, and we can still control our own destiny in terms of where we want to end up.”
Benetton used clever tactics in that Rainbow Cup final, mixing their play up through the tactical kicking from halfbacks Dewaldt Duvenage and Paolo Garbisi, and the elusive running of wings Monty Ioane and Edoardo Padovani.
Garbisi is now at French club Montpellier, but new No 10 Tomas Albornoz and South African fullback Rhyno Smith will look to drive the Bulls back into their half.
“It’s two ’o clock in the afternoon and we are playing at altitude. I heard the weather might not be that great, but still – it’s not going to be hailstorms and blistering winds. If it rains, it will still be a high-altitude game, and a bit of a different environment to what Benetton are used to,” White said.
“We’d like to play quickly. We’d like to use the altitude as an advantage, and we’d like to play a style that’s suited us. What we’ve managed in the past is to … even against a good side like Ulster, we’ve managed to score four tries.
“The one advantage is that we’ve played them before, and we didn’t play well. We’ve watched them throughout the competition, and the games have been 13-11 and 18-16.
“They don’t go away. They’re competitive and have a certain style that suits them and keeps them in the game. They have managed to keep that style going, even having lost their flyhalf.