Given the slow start to last season, Chris Rossouw believes that the South African sides have learned their lessons and will blast off in the new Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign.

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The backline coach indicated that the Vodacom Bulls will be going into this current campaign with more confidence and being better prepared for the season that lies ahead.

“In the beginning of the last season, we got ourselves on the wrong side of the table and we had to play a little bit of catch up,” he said.

“That was basically getting used to the conditions and tempo. We managed to make a few changes in the middle of the season and that suited us well and we ended up reaching the final.

“That, for us, was unbelievable, and I also think that there were a few teams that may have underestimated us. This season we know that it will not be a situation where some of the opposition play a weakened side against us.

“We are ready for the challenge. We really enjoyed going to Leinster last season, having the Sharks here and also playing in the final. We are confident that we will hit our straps soon and pave the way to once again be in the playoffs, hopefully.”

The Bulls have been hard at work during their pre-season preparations in the hope of getting their campaign in the 2022-23 season off to a good start against the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.

“It’s the first game of the season, so we expect that everybody will be a little bit short of breath. It is always nice when it’s warm, ideal conditions to run and play our game,” said Rossouw.

“I think for the first game of the season it will be important to control the game and see where our fitness is. We had a very good pre-season, and the guys are looking forward to going out at full pace, so on Saturday we will see where we are. We are confident and we are in a good place to perform.”

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