Bulls see scrums as their ‘big weapon’ against Glasgow on grass
· Citizen
The Bulls are excited to play on grass this time in Scotland and believe the surface could enhance their powerful scrum against old rivals Glasgow Warriors in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) semifinal (kick-off 3.30pm).
The teams meet at the renowned Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh for the first time, after playing at Glasgow’s home base, Scotstoun, in their four previous clashes in Scotland.
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A scheduling issue saw the move from the artificial pitch.
Though Glasgow remain the ‘home’ side after finishing the URC regular season at the top of the table, Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar said the move was a welcome one.
“We’ll be on grass again, so that might change how the pack performs in the scrum,” said Grobbelaar, who is due to play his 150th game for the Pretoria side.
“We are used to grass at Loftus, so most of us are looking forward to it. It might be a bit of a different game but our plans and structures should basically be the same.”
Bulls target scrum dominance
The Bulls are on a seven-match winning streak in the URC. Recently, their forwards have carried the momentum in collisions and set pieces. They performed three scrum turnovers during their 45-14 thumping of Munster in last week’s quarter-final at Loftus.
“It takes not weeks, but months or even seasons to get a good reputation at scrum time.
“We’ve had a few good scrums these past few weeks, so hopefully we can take it into this semifinal and make it a big weapon for us.”
While South African teams had been playing on some artificial pitches in Europe for a few years now, so they could not use unfamiliarity as an excuse, Grobbelaar believed it was still good to play on the same surface they used at home.
Moreover, he said playing at Murrayfield was on any player’s bucket list.
Grobbelaar hits 150 for Bulls
The eight-Test Springbok said he had experienced many highs and lows since joining the Bulls in 2016 – the only club he’s played at professionally.
In that time, the Bulls have reached three URC finals, including the 2024 final against Glasgow at Loftus.
“Now we’ll have the opportunity again. Hopefully, we can go all the way again and get a win this time.”
He said building friendships with players who started around the same time as him, such as Gerhard Steenekamp, Embrose Papier, and Stedman Gans, had been rewarding.
But he had also seen players leave, whom he missed. Grobbelaar hoped they could send Ruan Nortjé, David Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Wilco Louw off on a good note this season.