Johan Grobbelaar says it would be foolish of the Vodacom Bulls to think that Ulster will be walkovers in the Highveld heat in Saturday’s clash at Loftus Versfeld.
The Bulls continued their charge towards a potential Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoff place by claiming an emphatic eight-try victory over the Dragons on Saturday night.
It was a third successive win at home against European opponents for Jake White’s men, with the visiting teams largely taking strain playing in the heat and at altitude. But, Grobbelaar says Ulster showed incredible determination to fight back before losing 23-20 to the Stormers in Cape Town.
“Ulster are a team that doesn’t go away,” the Bulls hooker said. “They are going to fight for 80 minutes and even longer, if necessary – we saw that last weekend [against the Stormers]. Every week we try to prepare as well as possible.
“This week we are also going to do our best. Technically, we are good, but we know we are going to have to make a step up physically, as we saw last week.
“It is easy to fall into a trap. If you believe it is just going to happen when the overseas [teams] come over here and the altitude is just going to make it happen. It is important not to be complacent and still pitch for the game. Hopefully, we can pull through and get another win at a home game.”
Grobbelaar added: “We will be better prepared for the heat, so we are glad that it is a 2pm game. Those guys have been happier in wet conditions – so we are looking forward to a sunny day and hopefully we can run the ball around a bit.”
