There’s no more room for losses

Johan Grobbelaar says there is no lack of motivation as the Vodacom Bulls aim to lock in second place with a big win against the Dragons. 

The Bulls have secured a home URC quarter-final and they have a four-point lead over third-placed Glasgow going into the last round of the league stage. A bonus-point win against last-placed Dragons on Saturday will secure a top-two finish.

“Everyone gets more serious as we move into the business end of the competition,” the hooker said. “Maybe this weekend’s game won’t change much about the log, but it’s very important for our form and building confidence moving into the playoffs.

“There’s no more room for any losses going forward.”

The Bulls enter the clash on the back of a 45-21 win over Cardiff in Pretoria, where they stormed to a 31-0 half-time lead before conceding three second-half tries – a pattern Grobbelaar acknowledges needs addressing.

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“The strong start is always very important, but we did slip up a bit there at the end,” he added. “Also, we wanted to give them zero points on the board, same as this week.

“We were on track and then they got those three tries that probably didn’t make any difference on the result or the log, but it’s still something that we want to fix going to the playoffs. 

“You’re going to play in those big matches, then there won’t be any room for such errors.”

While the Bulls boast a 3-0 record against Dragons, who have managed just one win from 17 matches this season, Grobbelaar emphasised the value of delivering a complete performance.

“I think there’s a lot of motivation, not necessarily just because of who we are playing. You want to keep building, you want to be at your best, and you don’t want to wonder what’s going on and what went wrong last weekend when you go into a quarter-final.

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“We’re going to have to be on top of our game against the Dragons.”

The significance of playoff games at Loftus isn’t lost on Grobbelaar, despite the Bulls’ impressive away form this term. White’s charges created history on the road, becoming the first SA team to win at Thomond Park in Limerick.

“Last two [games on tour] went well, and we’re obviously very happy with the position that we’re in. It also makes a massive difference if you can have the playoffs at home,” Grobbelaar said.

“It’s a funny thing, we’ve had our best wins overseas this season, but we dropped to the Stormers and we dropped to the Sharks when they came to Loftus, obviously very good teams. 

“But ja, there’s no room for losses anymore; if we want to make it to the end we’re going to have to win, especially at Loftus.”

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