Cornal Hendricks, who is 34 years old, has virtually seen and done it all on the rugby field.
Despite the fact that the Bulls reached the United Rugby Championship (URC) final last season, the utility back still feels the loss to Edinburgh in Scotland.
“I’m looking forward to Edinburgh since the last time we played them, we lost and it wasn’t a good experience. However, I am looking forward to playing them at two o’clock, so it will be lekker hot… The experienced wing acknowledged as much following yesterday’s practice at Loftus Versfeld, ahead of Saturday’s showdown with the Scottish team (2.30pm kick-off).
“The game is played differently in Europe and South Africa. We have both physically imposing and skillful players. In addition to their physical attributes, they have excellent technical and aerial abilities.
“I believe that their international players make a difference for their squad, so if we can bring the physicality of South Africa, we will be OK.
Last October at the DAM Heath Stadium, the Bulls suffered a 17-10 loss at the hands of Welsh referee Ben Whitehouse as they met Edinburgh for the last time.
Madosh Tambwe’s late disallowed try may have resulted in a 17-17 tie, but Whitehouse ruled that the Bulls wing made a double movement in extending over and penalized the South African team harshly at the breakdown.
Therefore, the Pretoria side would like to avoid controversy by dominating with the forwards in order to let the backs, such as Hendricks, to shine on Saturday after an error-filled offensive performance against the Lions last week.
“We always seek tempo, and we always assert that we will manage the game at our own pace. Hendricks, who scored a try at Ellis Park last weekend, stated, “We want to chase tempo again this weekend.”
“There is a great deal of positivism and energy within the crew. We want to make it exciting every week, and we are bringing back players from the national team. The team is getting stronger, and players want to be selected on the weekends.
“Johan (Goosen, who may be considered for selection at flyhalf this week) provides a different flavor to the team, has a lot of energy, and makes me and David (Kriel, inside center) look good.
“It is always beneficial to begin the season with a victory. The lads had a successful preseason, and we worked on numerous things to improve. Additionally, we learned from the previous season.
“Playing against the Lions is always difficult, but we kept the ball alive. Many of the things we perform in practice are utilized by the players during games.
Therefore, we are extremely pleased to be completing tasks on which we worked during the week.
@AshfakMohamed