Key areas Bulls must focus on

THE next two weekends will be a proper test of their grit and mentality as the Bulls strive to nail down a Top 8 spot in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

- LEIGHTON KOOPMAN

Starting with tomorrow’s encounter (7pm kickoff) against the fifth-placed Cardiff Rugby at Loftus Versfeld, the Pretoria side knows that wins are becoming a nonnegotiable, especially at home, if they want to stay in contention.

The unexpected 32-19 loss against the Stormers put the side of Johan Ackermann on the back foot, but they hold their playoff fate firmly in their hands. Over the next couple of weekends at home, they need to pick up the slack against strong teams to put themselves into a good position as the URC season reaches its climax.

Following the defeat at Loftus, there are a couple of aspects of their game that must be sharpened up ahead of Cardiff's visit.

Their kicking game, especially for territory

One of the most important areas the Bulls must improve on is their kicking game and overall territorial strategy. Let's be honest, the Stormers comfortably out-kicked them this past Saturday, and that result yielded good territory and attacking opportunities for the visitors. Cardiff will have taken note of that.