Champions have to be wary of gutsy Bulls

There was absolutely no uncertainty about the rugby in Christchurch a week ago.

For months the vibes had been delivered, the only thing left was the official confirmation last Saturday that Richie McCaw would captain the All Blacks. No gasps, no surprise.

Ditto tonight when McCaw leads the Crusaders against the Bulls in the second Super 14 semifinal?

It is a prevailing opinion but dismissing the Bulls would be both foolish and discourteous.

They may not be the flashiest side in the series, they may not play a style which New Zealanders admire, but they have outlasted 10 other sides.

And they beat both of last night's Hurricanes and Waratahs semifinalists in round-robin action. Not the Crusaders though.

In a run-and-gun exercise in Pretoria a fortnight ago, the Crusaders rested their captain and used a mobile pack allied to the rapier skill of Daniel Carter to see off the Bulls.

The 35-17 win was a victory for the tactical acumen of coach Robbie Deans and the skill of his troops to deliver the deathblows. Deans' influence tonight will be huge.

In working through their game plans, the Bulls will believe the Crusaders will revisit the strategies which worked so well for them on the high veld. They will prepare to counter Carter kicking downfield rather than risking the sidelines and the Bulls' lineout.

Deans has offered a teasing thought about preparing differently for each match but that could be a double-bluff - he may just dust off the template which worked so well in Pretoria.

If he believes the Bulls are at risk running the ball back against the Crusaders' defence, then he may revisit his old plans.

However, Deans has been the most astute coach in Super rugby and he will have alternate approaches. One will be to bash at the Bulls inside and then stretch them across the park, an idea he has signalled with his selection of halfback Andrew Ellis and the ball-carrying skills of Casey Laulala at centre.

The Bulls must also deal with the travel recovery, conditions which will be different from Pretoria, five out of six losses in night games and a Crusaders side which has not lost at Jade Stadium since 2004.

One theory has the Crusaders in a comfort zone after their win in pool play, while there is another which suggest the Bulls will be satisfied after making the playoffs. Neither fits the attitude both sides bring to their rugby.

"Our concentration levels and tactical decision-making will have to be on the same level as our guts to beat the Crusaders," Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer said.

His side had to use their proven style, if they tried to copy the Crusaders they would fail.

"That is what we did in Pretoria and we were beaten. They will immediately play the ball wide and stretch our lines of defence to the limit."

If the Bulls want to upset they have to slow the game down - they will want a static match with plenty of lineouts and scrums. That will erode the Crusaders' endurance and frustrate their expressive ambitions.

The Bulls have six of the Springboks squad in their pack garnished with the sniping, kicking game of international halfback Fourie diu Preez. Guessing their game plan is not tough.

"We'll need the physical presence of Bakkies [Botha] if we want to intimidate the Crusaders at the contact points from the word go," Meyer said.

While the tactics will be restricted, the Bulls do have the pace and poaching strengths of Bryan Habana and some creativity from Jaco van der Westhuizen.

However it is the names of McCaw and Carter which sit heavily over this semifinal, while the all-round skills of the Crusaders and the class of their coaching staff say the champions will be defending their title next week.

Coaches' thoughts

Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer: "Our team can play with guts and pluck, but you need that something extra to get the scales to tip in your favour. Our concentration levels and tactical decision-making will have to be on the same level as our guts to beat the Crusaders."

Crusaders coach Robbie Deans: "If they can create physical stress and sap us by denying us possession and forcing us to work in a physical manner to get into the game, then when you do get possession your legs aren't as fresh as you'd hope."

Crusaders v Bulls
Jade Stadium, 7.35 tonight

CRUSADERS

Leon MacDonald

Rico Gear

Casey Laulala

Aaron Mauger

Scott Hamilton

Daniel Carter

Andrew Ellis

Mose Tuiali'i

Richie McCaw (c)

Johnny Leo'o

Reuben Thorne

Chris Jack

Greg Somerville

Corey Flynn

Wyatt Crockett

Reserves: Tone Kopelani, Campbell Johnstone, Ross Filipo, Tanerau Latimer, Kevin Senio, Cameron McIntyre, Caleb Ralph.

BULLS

J. Westhuyzen

Bryan Habana

JP Nel

Wynand Olivier

Frikkie Welsh

Morne Steyn

Fourie du Preez

P. Wannenburg

Tim Dlulane

Jacques Cronje

Victor Matfield

Bakkies Botha

Danie Thiart

Gary Botha

Wessel Roux

Reserves: Adriaan Strauss, Jaco Engels, Danie Rossouw, Pierre Spies, Francois van Schouwenburg, Heini Adams, Akona Ndungane.