Bulls must regroup for Munster clash, says Rossouw

The Bulls learnt valuable lessons in their 35-21 defeat to Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship (URC) at the weekend and have to regroup.

This is the view of backline coach Chris Rossouw, who blamed their first defeat of the season on the players having an off day, a no-no in this sort of competition.

The loss in Scotland brought an end to the Bulls’ three-match winning streak and saw Rossouw’s men begin their three-week European tour with a defeat.

“As we all know in this competition, if you are off your game you are going to get points [against you]. It’s almost like Super Rugby,” the coach said.

“Having had the good start that we had and looking forward to the tour, it was disappointing for us to perform the way we did. It was frustrating because we got multiple 22m entries, but we couldn’t convert.”

The Bulls continue their tour this week in Ireland, where they face struggling Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday (8.35pm).

In four matches this season, Munster have managed only one victory.

The Irish side have gone through some changes since last season, with Graham Rowntree taking over from SA’s Johann van Graan as the new coach.

They also lost Springbok star Damian de Allende, a key member of their squad from the previous campaign.

But Rossouw has warned that does not mean the Irish will be a walkover.

“We need to step up in that department. We can’t have so many opportunities and not convert,” Rossouw said.

“The positives are we have the opportunities, and now we need to be smarter in unlocking them.

“The ability to adapt to the game under pressure and have different options is something we are definitely going to discuss. We are growing as a group. Any good team has got that ability.”