SPOTLIGHT: Flyer Stedman Gans said it’s time the Bulls players step up and be part of the solution as they aim to avoid a “downward spiral”.
Jake White’s side has lost their last four games in a row in all competitions and in that period their hopes of a place in the last 16 of the Champions Cup were crushed.
They still have a chance of qualifying for the Challenge Cup if they record a big win against Stade Francais on Saturday, but it seems the overall quality of the performance will be the major goal.
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“The message around the players at this stage is how do we become part of the solution.
“We’ve had a couple of losses now and it’s very easy to become negative as a playing group.
“For us as a leadership group and as a player group, the conversation is about what we need to do on the field and also what we need to do off it to stay positive and be part of the solution and to get back to winning ways.”
He added: “From a players perspective, I would say the most important lesson that is coming to the forefront now is that we have to stick together as a group.
“We are fighting to be a part of the solution and to get better every day.
“We are trying to get back to winning ways and I think that is the most important part – to be the positive guy and be the guy who trains hard and comes up with new ideas and solutions.
“It’s very easy to start pointing fingers and be negative and that’s what we don’t want to do at this stage.”
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The Bulls’ latest defeat was against Castres (10-49) in France and Gans believes a pattern has emerged in their performances.
“The thing that has crept into our game over the last couple of weeks is that we have been making unforced errors a lot.
“We are keeping teams in the game and in some cases letting them get by us, so I think that is going to be a big focus point for us this weekend.
“In a lot of the games we are right there until the end and then we don’t manage to pull it through like we did in previous years.
“It’s small stuff and stuff that this squad is more than capable of getting right.
“At this stage, it is about staying positive and I am sure we will turn it around. We don’t want to go into a downward spiral where we start to compound things.”
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