First things first. Get the basics right. And then the rest will fall into place.
That’s the message from the Vodacom Bulls impact player Jannes Kirsten on his team’s task ahead of their Vodacom United Rugby Championship semifinal against Irish juggernaut Leinster this Saturday at Loftus Versfeld.
The overwhelming task of beating a side like Leinster may not be easy for any team, but the Bulls have been guilty of ignoring the basics at times - like when they dropped four kickoffs during their quarterfinal victory over Italian side Benetton last weekend.
It will come down to small margins when they face Leinster, and the Bulls know that.
Kirsten, who was part of the Exeter Chiefs side that conquered Europe, believes it all starts with one simple fact - the basics need to be perfect and then the rest will fall into place.
“To stop a machine like Leinster you have to get the basics right. There are a lot of no-talent things each player can do,” Kirsten said.
“It is things you can’t measure like how hard you scrum, how hard you maul, how much effort you put into the tackle, how quickly you get back up. It is hard to measure those things but how hard we are willing to work against a team like that will be our foundation.”
INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE AND SQUAD DEPTH
Leinster’s depth and wealth of experience is not in question. Kirsten knows this all too well. Last weekend Leo Cullen’s side had almost 2500 caps in their match day 23, including more than 1000 on the bench. That is way more than the Bulls can muster, but the home side need to use the altitude, the home crowd and their fortress as levelers against one of the top club sides in World Rugby.
“You have to meet them head-on. Leinster have a lot of test players and they will exert pressure from their set pieces and their ability to keep the ball for long phases, but it is in our hands. It is about working hard, hanging in there, and then trying to blast them away.
The amount of points that the Bulls have leaked late in the game has been a concern for them this season, and Kirsten says a lot of focus has gone into this area ahead of the semifinal.
“It’s something we are focusing on, to get together and get that focus right for the last 20 minutes of the game,” he said.
“It’s something we’ve spoken about; in the last couple of games, we had a decent lead at some stages, and towards the last 20 minutes of the game, we leaked points.
“It is a focal point for us — coming from the bench, all you can do is try and make an impact, and sometimes it’s a difficult thing. It’s about finding that balance,” Kirsten said.
Without their two World Cup winners Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie, the Bulls will have to dig deep and find other ways to score tries. But they know it starts with the basics, and a cool head under pressure.
And that is where their senior players need to play a vital role.