With an influx of youthful exuberance, the Bulls will look to add some pace to their game in the new year.

In Part Three of his interview with this website, Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said the three-time champions will certainly "tweak" their tactics. (Click here for PART ONE and PART TWO!)

The departure of a host of veterans - players like Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Gary Botha, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Fourie du Preez and Danie Rossouw, amounts to about 350 Tests caps worth of experience - means the Bulls will have a more youthful look.

And that will certainly mean there will be some changes to the tactics, or at least some "minor adjustments", according to Ludeke.

"The shape of the game at present ensures that the attacking teams are benefiting," the Bulls mentor told this website.

"If you can retain the ball on attack and you have players who can create opportunities, then you will get the rewards."

Ludeke said they have always had belief in their ability to play any type of rugby, "still feel the same".

However, their play at the breakdown will have to improve.

"We will make a few adjustments to the way we attack ... some variation, a bit more width," Ludeke said, adding: ":We do believe we have always had that ability and we were not one dimensional - especially if you look at the tournament we won [in 2009 and 2010]."

In 2010, when they claimed their third title, the Bulls scored 51 tries - four more than the next best team and scored at an average of almost four tries per game.

The previous year, 2009, the Bulls scored 48 tries - one less than the top team, the Hurricanes.

"We certainly had an allround game," Ludeke said, adding: "We attacked well from broken play and we had a great attack from the set pieces. Our kicking game was executed very well.

"The game has not changed, you still have to do the basics well.

"What we can do is play at a higher tempo, execute our tactics at a higher tempo."

Ludeke said there is no doubt they will "tweak" their game a bit.

"The system [at the Bulls] hasn't changed much, but this year we just didn't always create all the opportunities we did in past seasons.

"We certainly missed out on a few bonus points, because from the fourth to 10th place on the [Super Rugby standings] all the teams won 10 games. We missed out by three points to get into the play-offs.

"That could suggest that we needed to get a few more bonus points," Ludeke said.

By Jan de Koning

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