- Bulls skipper Marcell Coetzee believes one of the major trump cards his team has in the URC semi against Leinster is that they've been in playoff mode for some time.
- Due to a slow start to the season, the Bulls had to play catch-up throughout, but results suggest they've embraced the pressure and have settled on the way they want to play.
- Coetzee is also confident that the Bulls will adapt to the match officials.
Respect the challenge, but don't consider it an impossible one.
Bulls skipper Marcell Coetzee's message to his team-mates ahead of a daunting United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final against Leinster in Dublin on Friday night is indeed a simple one.
It's also an eminently realistic view to hold because there can be little doubt that the men from Loftus have evolved immensely since being the cheery but eventually shell-shocked upstarts that lost 3-31 to the Irish heavyweights back in September.
Importantly, Coetzee believes, the Bulls have been playing with a playoff mindset for the past few months now already, priming them even more for the task of toppling their accomplished hosts.
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"There are a lot of factors that you need to take into account when you're preparing to face a team like Leinster," said the dynamic loose forward from the Irish capital on Tuesday.
"There's obviously always is going to be an atmosphere where the pressure is high when you play a semi-final, but getting over the psychological barriers is also important.
"When we climbed onto the plane, we had already made the decision that we're really motivated and keen to play this game. One question that always needs to be answered in a playoff game is whether you can sustain your game-plan when the pressure is on.
"We back our system, we've been doing this continuously for weeks now. We've had to play all our games as if it's going to be our last interest in this season's tournament. We're used to that norm now."
Yet while the Bulls will need to be on top of their game against their illustrious but hurting opponents - Leinster lost out to La Rochelle in the Champions Cup a fortnight ago - arguably their biggest hurdle is painting the right pictures for the match officials.
Things have definitely improved in that regard though the suspicion persists that Jake White's troops - and SA teams in general - still have to truly get a grasp on it.
Forwards
Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Bismarck du Plessis, Johan Grobbelaar, Robert Hunt, Elrigh Louw, Reinhardt Ludwig, Simphiwe Matanzima, Ruan Nortje, Dylan Smith, Mornay Smith, Gerhard Steenekamp, Walt Steenkamp, WJ Steenkamp, Janko Swanepoel, Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Backs
Kurt-Lee Arendse, Zak Burger, Cornal Hendricks, Marco Jansen van Vuren, David Kriel, Canan Moodie, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Morne Steyn, Madosh Tambwe, Harold Vorster, Bernard van der Linde,
"When you get onto the field, you obviously want to play to the rules and just get your game on," said Coetzee.
"Sometimes there are challenges, but the big word remains adaptation. It's about fully understanding what the referee wants on the day and how to implement our systems accordingly.
"We've quickly caught up. If the game is blown fair, there won't be any problems."
Kickoff on Friday night is at 20:35.