Bulls scrumhalf Zak Burger says the Ospreys’ shock defeat of the Stormers last week is a perfect example of what can happen in the scramble for the top eight positions in the United Rugby Championship.
The Welsh team travel to Pretoria on Saturday (3pm kick-off) and will back themselves to beat a Bulls side that are hurting from their surprise 27-22 loss to Munster at Loftus Versfeld last week.
“Nobody expected that result in Cape Town, but that shows the mind space the Ospreys are in,” Burger said.
“They are in the race for the top eight, and they are holding nothing back. They are among 11 teams stuck in a tight logjam.
“For those sides, every game is a must-win if you are going to make the quarter-finals. There is also the carrot of climbing the log to get into contention for a home play-off.”
The inference is that the teams that do not step up a level are going to fall by the wayside. The Stormers and the Bulls have had their wake-up calls, and there is sure to be an extra urgency to their performances on Saturday.
Burger said the Bulls are on high alert for the Ospreys.
“They are a dangerous side, and they travel well,” the former Griquas star said. “They beat the Lions in a Challenge Cup game at Ellis Park not too long ago, and now have beaten the Stormers away.
“They have a good kicking game, and their defence is brilliant. They create opportunities from defence and their kicking game. We need to overcome that.
“Mostly, we need to tighten up our own game from our performance against Munster,” Burger added. “We made a lot of unforced errors, and gave away too many unnecessary penalties. We have to look after the ball better this week.”
Burger said that Jake White’s side were guilty of forcing too many passes instead of showing patience.
“When you play the offload game, there is a fine line between the passes coming off and creating tries, or going wrong and the opposition intercept and counter-attack. In a split second you have to decide whether to offload or keep the ball.”
The 25-year-old halfback said beating the Ospreys is non-negotiable after the crime of dropping a home game.
“Yes, it is a must-win. When you lose at home, you make life difficult. If you look at patterns in the URC, the home teams usually win. Away victories are minimal,” Burger said.
“We have four games left and three are at home (their last game is away to the Sharks), so hopefully we can finish these four games on a high and go into the quarters with good momentum.
“There are three teams above us (Leinster, Glasgow and Munster). We are on 46 points, Benetton are on 42, then two teams are on 40 and four teams on 39. We need to get as many points as possible to put pressure on the sides above us.
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“We are in good spirits. We know we have good quality players, and we feel we have not had the bounce of the ball in certain games.
“We have lost our rhythm a bit in the last two games, but we will get back to winning ways if we are the best version of ourselves on Saturday.”
On a personal level, Burger is in a tussle for the No 9 jersey with the in-form Embrose Papier.
“Embrose has been magnificent, he is in tremendous form, and I am happy for him,” Burger said. “But all four nines (Papier, Burger, Keagan Johannes and Bernard van der Linde) train together.
“It doesn’t matter which one is starting – we all look at the game, and discuss where we can help the team.”