The Vodacom Bulls know they took their foot off the pedal against Glasgow Warriors last week, allowing the log leaders to grab two vital points in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship race, but according to Elrigh Louw, they believe they have learnt the lessons and won’t allow it to happen again.
Louw stressed that the 40-34 win against the top team in the competition was still a very good performance, but that while it was never easy to be disappointed like they were on Saturday, the lessons that were learnt would count them in good stead for the rest of the tournament.
“We achieved our plan, to get five points. But unfortunately we allowed them to get the two bonus points. Still, we are positive, we know we have learnt a few lessons, but we know we are privileged to learn lessons while winning,” he said.
“We are at a point where our standards are so high that it felt like we lost last weekend. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I think at times we don’t realise how well we played, the Warriors are top of the log and play good rugby. We achieved our goal, but we did go off script in those last 20 minutes.
“The lessons we learnt was that we need to keep to our plan and make sure our discipline is right, especially at the end of the game. Normally though, you learn these lessons when you lose, but we’ve done that while winning, so I believe we will use those lessons well when we get out onto the field again.”
Louw said the team didn’t necessarily have to change much in the lead up to Saturday’s last home clash but rather just concentrate on ensuring they stick to their game plan.
“I don’t think there is a lot to change. We had an awesome attitude going into that game but a few small things crept in, in those last 20 minutes. Soft penalties, soft moments on defence, but there isn’t a lot to change. We just need to tighten up and keep to our plan, it worked well for us in the first 60 and we need to just execute it until the final whistle blows.
“It is not their first time playing here anymore, and they know what to expect. It is the same for us going overseas. The first time is difficult, the second time is difficult, but the third time you kinda know what to expect. It will always be in our favour but it is not that new anymore.”
And he was weary of Benetton, especially after they had beaten the Sharks last week in Durban.
“They are a quality team. They have a lot of internationals and if you look at the upward trend in Italian rugby they are not a team to be taken lightly. We will prepare as such for them, like any other game, even if we were playing Leinster, we would prepare the same way.”
Whether or not the Bulls will be able to continue in that vein waits to be seen, but Louw is confident the team know where they went wrong and how to rectify it.