World Cup winner and 51-cap Springbok van den Berg knows first-hand just how hard the task will be to get one over the men from Pretoria and his former coach Jake White.
The Bulls have enjoyed a 100 percent start to the season with three wins in as many games scoring 14 tries in the process.
Four scores in the opening quarter put the Ospreys to the sword last weekend before a second period littered with ill-discipline almost led to an unlikely comeback for Toby Booth’s side.
Reduced to 13 men for long periods, the South Africans would be victorious the hard way. Much like the Scarlets, who would face similar problems with the sin bin, they would have to rely on strong resilience in defence to get over the line.
The South African’s vast depth of talent will be available to White with the Bulls strong favourites to extend their unbeaten run with the Scarlets massive underdogs. However, Dwayne Peel’s side will have seen enough of a chink in the armour of the Bulls across the Loughor Bridge to offer hope that a shock could be on the cards.
Full of confidence after a morale-boosting win over Cardiff, van den Berg sees the west Wallians growing stronger by the week. But to maintain the feel-good factor the coach sees eliminating the mistakes from their opening games could play a big part in gaining a positive result come game day.
“Discipline is going to be a big factor.” said van den Berg. “We know the Bulls are coming to town, we know they will look to kick to the corner, try and get scrum penalties, and maul us.
“It [The URC] is very competitive and getting more and more unpredictable every year as the competition goes forward.
“They have got a great team, a lot of Springboks. They are physical, have a good scrum, good maul, and their counter attack is also strong with ball carriers.
“I know Jake [White] well, having played under him. He will get them fired up, he has said in the media that this is their year to perform, they will have the right mindset.
“For me, he brings a lot of confidence in you as a player. He has a clear game plan, what he wants from everyone in the team, and he puts all of that together.”
The Scarlets have no new injury concerns ahead of the clash with minimal changes expected for the clash with the Bulls.
“It was great for us [Last weekend],” continued the former Emirates Lions coach.
“We came close in the first three games, had opportunities in all three matches, and after Cardiff took us in our own backyard it was great to get one back on them.
“When we were down to 13 men [against Cardiff], it was great to see how the boys managed the time and showed composure, our defence was really good as well.
“We are looking at the same squad, which is great. It is a nice headache to have when you have to select the team.
“We have a great balance of young players and experience. Performances are getting better; we are moving in the right direction.
“The guys really believed in each other and stuck to the system regardless of how many players were on the field.
“That [Blair Murray’s tackle] is one of our highlights reels we have been showing this week.
“The great thing about it is that Jac Price and Dan Davis are chasing back as well, the commitment from the boys was outstanding, Blair got the tackle and everyone else was looking to get back as well.”
“Spirits are up in the camp, and everyone is happy.
“Everyone is improving, young players are coming through, it is an exciting competition.
“We will be ready for them. We like to take on the big teams and the big players, all the guys will be fired up for this one.”
Scarlets XV to face Vodacom Bulls:
Ioan Nicholas; Tom Rogers, Johnny Williams, Eddie James, Blair Murray; Ioan Lloyd, Gareth Davies
Kemsley Mathias, Ryan Elias, Henry Thomas, Alex Craig, Sam Lousi, Max Douglas, Josh Macleod (captain), Taine Plumtree.
Replacements:
Marnus van der Merwe. Alec Hepburn, Sam Wainwright, Jac Price, Dan Davis, Efan Jones, Sam Costelow, Macs Page.
[Lead image: Scarlets Rugby]
