Elrigh Louw says the Vodacom Bulls regard Saturday’s north-south derby against the Stormers as a chance to reset their season.
Coach Johan Ackermann’s men head to Cape Town on the back of a five-match losing streak across competitions – a sequence that prompted a shake-up in the coaching ranks last week.
Assistants Andries Bekker and Chris Rossouw were sacked, Neil de Bruin was brought in to oversee the backs and attack, while Ackermann will take direct control of the forwards.
The Bulls will also receive assistance from members of the Springbok brains trust, although Ackermann has confirmed they will not be involved this week.
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“There has been a bit of disruption with us recently and the team has not performed well,” Louw told Netwerk24. “But we know we are a better team than our results have shown.
“We see this as a chance to get our campaign back on track against the top team in the competition.”
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The Bok loose forward, who returned to action in late November after a serious knee injury sidelined him for 10 months, feels the margins in recent defeats have been fine.
“I don’t think there is a big problem,” he explained. “On the day there are one or two things that didn’t work out for us. Against the Sharks [in Durban on 20 December] we were in the game all the way – a pass and Jaden Hendrikse’s kick over a maul ended up being the difference.”
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He also backed Ackermann to steer the Bulls out of their slump.
“Coach Ackies is a people person and the players have the greatest respect for him,” Louw said. “He’s building a strong team culture, but it’s not going to happen overnight.”
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
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