Cape Town – It’s the biggest game of the season for the Bulls as they will look to cause an upset in Sunday’s Champions Cup last-16 showdown with Toulouse in France (4pm SA time kickoff).
Here are five key player battles that could decide the result at the 33 000-capacity Stadium de Toulouse…
1 Kurt-Lee Arendse v Thomas Ramos
Two contrasting styles of play from the two fullbacks should make for a thrilling duel. Arendse is the dashing runner with pace to burn, who can cut defences apart with his speed, skill and fearlessness. He is also a courageous tackler, and is never shy to claim a high ball.
But he is up against a wily old customer in Ramos, who is so much more than just an ace goal-kicker. He has enough pace to break the line, he is good in the air, and his tactical kicking and up-and-under ‘bombs’ will make life tough for Arendse – especially in the expected slippery conditions.
2 Chris Smith v Romain Ntamack
The Bulls No 10 may not have the same amount of ‘razzle-dazzle’ in his game that Ntamack possesses, but he carries the ball up, gets his backline away and is a solid defender.
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Smith also kicks his goals, but one major test will be his tactical kicking in the rain and wind – he needs to get the Bulls out of their half.
Ntamack is a smart tactical operator who is able to switch from a kicking strategy to a running game very quickly. He will need to be watched with ball-in-hand as he has a bit more freedom to try things due to the talismanic presence of halfback partner Antoine Dupont and the fact that Ramos does the goal-kicking.
3 Zak Burger v Antoine Dupont
This is the biggest test of Burger’s career against arguably the world’s best at the moment, who has just been voted as the Six Nations player of the tournament.
Dupont snipes around the fringes, keeps his heavy pack of forwards involved with little offloads, and then unleashes the backline when the time is right.
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But Burger proved in the URC semi-final against Leinster that he can handle the big stage with a superb display against Irish international No 9 Jamison Gibson-Park.
The Bulls halfback has the pace to test the Toulouse ruck defence, but it will be his service from the base that will be vital – as well as making life as scrappy as possible for Dupont.
4 Marco van Staden v Francois Cros
The two workhorses of the respective packs. Van Staden knows how to get down and dirty on the ground, but it is all about the timing. Englishman Matthew Carley is an eagle-eyed referee, and won’t miss a beat – so the Bulls openside flank will have to be careful not to go off his feet when contesting the breakdowns.
Cros is a similar player who does the hard yards and is a tackling machine, which has seen him star for France in the recent Six Nations.
Van Staden is also a useful ball-carrier, but he has one big job today: slow the ball down, as Toulouse thrive on raising the tempo on attack.
5 Johan Grobbelaar v Julien Marchand
Grobbelaar is a modern mobile hooker whose work-rate is exemplary. He is almost always available for a carry, makes a lot of tackles and contests the breakdown too.
The Bulls No 2 is generally accurate with his lineout-throwing as well, and has a knack of scoring tries from driving mauls.
Marchand is perhaps the more old-style, abrasive hooker. He is slightly shorter and heavier than Grobbelaar (1.81m and 108kg to 1.83m and 103kg), makes those crucial little carries at close quarters, goes hard at the breakdowns, and often shares the captaincy duties with Dupont as well.
Perhaps Ruan Nortjé can put him under pressure in the lineouts…
@ashfakmohamed
