Assistant coach Robin McBryde anticipates an epic showdown between the Vodacom Bulls and Leinster in Pretoria on Saturday, likening the level of intensity to a Test match.
The Bulls edged Benetton while Leinster beat Irish rivals Ulster last week to set up a blockbuster Vodacom URC semi-final between the teams at Loftus Versfeld.
Jake White’s men provided one of the all-time upsets of the competition by eliminating Leinster in the 2021-22 semi-finals in Dublin. But the six-time Pro12/14 champions exacted revenge earlier this season with a 47-14 victory at the RDS Arena.
White has appealed to Bulls fans to get behind their team and fill up Loftus for a titanic clash against Leinster, and speaking in a teleconference on Tuesday, McBryde acknowledged the hostile environment that awaits them.
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“I was talking to a friend of mine and he said that irrespective of all the preparatory work and detail you go into in the week, when you step on a field it’s like stepping into a casino because you lose a lot of control,” he told reporters.
“We’ve just got to paint those positive pictures and have a good relationship with [referee] Sam Grove-White… It’s tough, and it’ll be even harder for us on Saturday because we’ll be facing very hostile, passionate Bulls supporters, and it’ll be a full house I think.
“But it’s good going to places where you’re the underdogs and proving everyone wrong. The Bulls are going to be favourites, have an unbelievably proud record of winning knockout games at home, and are in a rich vein of form. The odds are stacked in their favour.
“They’re a pedigreed team full of internationals, and that’s going to help them on Saturday because it’s going to be a Test match with the level of intensity. But we’ll embrace it and give it a good old crack.”
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Leo Cullen’s charges are in uncharted territory in the URC, as they face their first away semi-final in the URC, yet McBryde is confident the team will rise to the challenge.
“It’s obviously a different route that we’ve taken this season,” he noted. “Maybe it’s good that we’re coming to a tough place against an in-form team full of internationals, so we need to be at our best.
“Sometimes you can react positively to doing things the hard way, and hopefully we get a good reaction out of the players.”
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