The Bulls won’t make the mistake of taking the foot off the gas again when they take on Glasgow Warriors in the Grand Final of the United Rugby Championship at Loftus Versfeld this weekend.
This was the view of Bulls lock Ruan Vermaak, who has been ever-present in the team’s run to the final of the competition, their second in three seasons.
Last weekend, the Bulls won a bruising encounter against a Leinster side stacked with Irish internationals to book their place in the final.
Earlier in the campaign, in their first game against Glasgow Warriors, the Bulls raced to a 37-10 lead, but gave their supporters heart palpitations when they took the foot off the gas and allowed the Scots back into the game. In the end, Jake White’s men walked away with a nervy 40-34 win.
Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday, Vermaak said there would be no such slip-ups on Saturday.
“Glasgow definitely want to outmuscle their opponents, so that’s one factor we’ll make sure we’re up for,” Vermaak said when speaking to journalists.
“They’re a good running side as well, good backs, so that’s another thing we have to be sharp on this weekend.
“And special plays, just to make sure they don’t catch us sleeping. We’re expecting a well-rounded team but will be prepared for whatever they throw at us.
“Our mindset has changed over the last couple of weeks that we don’t fall asleep after 60 minutes. Take the Glasgow game, and Benetton as well; we got into quite a comfortable lead and that last 20 minutes we got a bit complacent.
“It’s something we’ve worked on that if we’re in that position again, we take it all the way and not take our foot off the gas. We’ll make sure we don’t get caught in that same trap again.”
IOL Sport