The Vodacom Bulls know they’ve got themselves into the bind they’re currently in, and there is only one way out of it - to win every game they have left.
There are four games left, including tough assignments away to Ulster and at home to log leaders Leinster, and the Bulls are still smarting from their loss to the DHL Stormers last week.
But with the lost they dropped out of the top four placings and out of a home playoff place - something they still hope to achieve, but now know the only way they can rectify it is to win.
This weekend they face the dangerous Emirates Lions in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby at Loftus Versfeld and you could forgive them if they have one eye on the playoffs given their position at the moment.
But for now, their captain Ruan Nortje believes all they should focus on is what is in front of them, so that they don’t make the same mistakes they have before.
“We spoke about it this week. At this moment we need to focus on this weekend’s game.
We don’t want to focus on any playoffs or anything like that, we just want to go out and put in a good performance for the fans and for the whole franchise and ourselves as players.
“Obviously we always want to finish as high as possible on the log and playoffs are vital for us, but this week we really were focusing on getting stuck in this weekend and nothing else.”
Nortje is honest where he says the side have themselves to blame for the position they are in and believes they have to dig deep to get themselves out of the dip they find themselve stuck in.
“This is the mentality we need to be in, we got ourselves into this position and for us every game is important, we need to focus every weekend on the game in front of us. It is a playoff game for us and if we want to get into the top four we can’t afford any slip-ups. It is a case of playoff games for us non-stop.”
Personally Nortje is growing as a captain, despite some hiccups, and was part of the Bok setup last year, but as far as the World Cup selection goes, he isn’t placing too much of an emphasis on it right now.
“I was with the Boks last year and it was amazing. You will always aspire to being there and do whatever you can to make it, but you also understand the guys that are there at the moment and what they have achieved - there are big characters, unbelievable players. For me it is just a case of working as hard as I can and put in good performances. I always feel that things happen as they should and if the time is right, then things will go my way.
“I just need to bide my time.”
For now the Bulls have enough to keep them busy, and winning this weekend’s derby is the first task at hand.