Bulls felt they had to run

Flyhalf Keagan Johannes says the Vodacom Bulls must keep their composure when put under pressure and starved of possession.

The Bulls failed to do that during the first half of last Saturday’s Challenge Cup quarter-final in Edinburgh. As a result, they trailed 24-7 at the break and a spirited second-half fightback was not enough to prevent a 34-28 defeat.

“It was a very difficult first half,” said Johannes on Tuesday. “We didn’t execute our plan as well as we wanted to.

“Playing that first half without the ball was quite frustrating. So at times when we needed to kick, we felt like we had to run because we didn’t have any ball.

“What we learned from that is to stay composed and do what you did in training during the week.”

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Johannes made a name for himself as a scrumhalf, but started at 10 for the first time for the Bulls against Benetton in Treviso last October. And when Johan Goosen was injured in January, coach Jake White backed him again there against Leinster and Zebre. The Bulls won both games, with Johannes named Man of the Match after the latter.

A fit-again Goosen started the Bulls’ Challenge Cup playoff matches against Bayonne and Edinburgh on the bench, as Johannes continued to be entrusted with the No 10 jersey.

“I’m enjoying it a lot at flyhalf,” he said. “The boys back me and the coaches give me a chance to express myself. I last played flyhalf in my matric year [at Hoërskool Garsfontein], so it was a big adjustment, I had to get used to the position again.

“One area I can improve on is [eliminating] those silly mistakes, like not always finding touch [from penalties],” he added. “It’s about staying calm in that situation, do what you have to do and stick to your processes.”

While the Bulls are known for their forward dominance, the backs have scored some memorable tries in recent weeks, and Johannes says they’re always keen to have a crack when the time is right.

“[Backline] Coach Chris [Rossouw] has been putting a lot of effort in. It feels like everyone is in sync and the micro-comms have started to improve. It just makes everything as a playmaker so much easier when you have a lot of comms outside. If you hear something from outside, you back that call. Everyone has started to gain that trust, to know that if someone wants the ball, they are going to do something with it.”

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Arguably the biggest positive from the Bulls’ Challenge Cup exit is that they can now focus fully on their Vodacom URC campaign, starting with Saturday’s match against Munster at Thomond Park.

“Coach Jake always says that you enter a competition to win it. But our focus has shifted from the Challenge Cup and basically everything is now [put] towards the URC. We’ve come close the past couple of years and it’s a tournament we feel we need to win.

“We didn’t get the result we wanted this past weekend, but we have to put that behind us now and focus on the next job, which is Munster. They’ve been playing very well [in the Champions Cup] but we’ll be ready. Game management and playing in the correct areas [of the field] will be key.”

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