Cormac Izuchukwu’s ‘you stick to what works’ Ulster plan for Bulls
Going head-to-head against a pack of South African forwards is the ultimate test in rugby – but one Ulster’s Cormac Izuchukwu is relishing.
Ulster face the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon and Johan Ackermann’s side have won all three URC games, posting the most points with one of the best defences in the league plus able to call on 14 Springboks.
Despite a rotated squad, the Bulls still scored 56 points in their Champions Cup win over Stade Francais last weekend and Ulster arrive in the South African capital searching for a first league win of the season.
“It’s going to be tough, there's parts of the game I think as a forward that you really can't afford to get wrong over there (South Africa) just with how they play the game and how they approach it,” said loose forward Izuchukwu. “Especially on the set piece, they're going to be looking to use that as a weapon to break us.
“Looking forward to that battle and that growth that will obviously come out...they're big men, they're strong but it's also their mentality, they will really attack that part of the game.
“Maybe they're lacking in other parts of the game that other teams have, maybe they don't play the hi-tec level of rugby, you know what I mean? It's quite up front, in your face...there's kind of what you see, what you get with them and that's what works for them.
“I think how you stop it is by whenever Plan A doesn't work and they go back to it again, you stop it again and again...you stick to what works, stick to what works for you.
“Obviously, then whenever you have the ball or you're on top, you kind of have to keep the foot down on their throat and don't let them breathe.
"Because, with them boys, I think, with Bulls and with the Stormers, whenever they get going they get firing, they're really hard to stop.
"And to try and get back on top as well is tough too, so you have to start fast, start hard, and stay on top of it for the full 80 minutes.”
It’s eight years since the South African teams came into northern hemisphere rugby and while it was a novelty at the start Izuchukwu admits the players are well used to the travel and acclimation.
“I think it was like twice or three times (I’ve played there), it’s part and parcel of the season now,” he said. “Whenever it's the start of the season, whenever it's laid out, you kind of look forward to schedules and you kind of see what's going on and then you kind of try and plan accordingly from there...but it's been good on top of it with our doc and our nutritionist there as well, in terms of food and hygiene and stuff.
“On the flight, trying to get on top of the laptop, try and watch some rugby, then you're switching off then in between.”
Ulster delivered the first win of the season last Saturday by beating Zebre in the Challenge Cup.
“It was class...probably wasn't our best performance,” he said. “But large parts of the game we played it our way and we did the right thing, so I think that's more important than the win.”