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Lood's team talk focuses Bulls into action
De Jager revealed after the game that he was worried in the opening 10 minutes as the team were simply too on edge, too eager and gave away four penalties in the opening couple of minutes that saw them warned by referee Jaco Peyper and De Jager needing to settle some nerves. .
But the talk worked immensely well, as the Bulls emerged from the Stormers’ opening points to surge back and record a remarkable 40-3 victory over their southern rivals in a game that was all too one-sided for comfort. .
De Jager, who is looking very settled in his role as leader of the side, said he needed to calm matters down and gave some simple instructions on the field. .
“We were just a bit over-eager, it was a big game for us and we wanted to make people at Loftus proud again. It was rather emotional for all of us. The guys were really up for it, and there was a fine line between eager and over-eager,” De Jager said afterwards. .
“We were just a bit too committed, and guys went into breakdowns unnecessarily and there were soft penalties. So it was just me telling them to channel it and for the next 10 minutes we stay out of the rucks and have that extra step on defence. We felt that the only thing that kept them in the game in the first 10 minutes was our poor discipline.” .
De Jager praised his team for the way they were disciplined in executing their plan, and especially the attack on the Stormers lineout that stopped any momentum the visiting team had in the game. .
“It was really a pack effort, everyone knew their detail and went out on the field and executed. We put in a lot of work behind the scenes analysing, so I just want to thank the forwards and congratulate them on a great effort in the forwards,” he added, praising the experience of new recruits Duane Vermeulen and Schalk Brits in particular. .
“I think there was a calmness on the field, especially in the second half. I think with a healthy lead, we didn’t want to give away any soft tries and let them back into the game and we didn’t want to go into a defensive mode. So just that little bit of experience, guys who have been around the block and kept calm. Just the message that we have to keep on playing rugby, and they had to chase the game, and the ball was wet. It played into our hands, and our linespeed forced them into errors, so ja it was a good performance.” .
De Jager though, reiterated the idea that the performance would mean little if they can’t back it up with consistency, especially when they head to Buenos Aires this coming week to face the Jaguares. .
“We had a good plan and we executed well but as the coach said Super Rugby isn’t won in week one. But we will enjoy tonight and it was a good performance from us. Monday we begin at zero, and then this game is in the past, just as the pre-season games were in the past. Then we focus on the Jaguares, because they aren’t an easy team to play, especially there. We are going to have to be up for it and hopefully we can give another big performance next weekend.” .
He did say that when the team were 28-3 up against the Stormers, they felt they didn’t need to score more tries, but rather chose the option of driving the nails into the coffin through an exceptional performance by the boot of Handre Pollard, who scored 20 points through eight faultless kicks on the evening. .
“I think Handre is a world-class goalkicker and why wouldn’t you use his boot? I felt we already had the bonus point, so it wasn’t necessary for us to chase and give them a chance to get back into the game. For us the more points there was meant more pressure that built on them and the more rugby they would have to play in their own half. Handre kicked everything and was very good, he is a world-class player.” .
But now the attention turns to their short stint across to South America. The opening gambit was good from the Bulls, but it is one game. De Jager knows all too well consistency is the key to success in Super Rugby. .
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