Guy Shepherdson

CA Brumbies prop Guy Shepherdson returns to the starting line-up this weekend to take on the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night. Shepherdson, who started on the bench against the Stormers in Cape Town last week, has continued to be one of the consistent performers for the CA Brumbies. Brumby Jack caught up with Shepherdson in the lead-up to Friday night’s match.

Brumby Jack: Loftus Versfeld is renowned as a particularly hostile venue for visiting teams. Can you give us an insight into what it’s like playing in Pretoria?
Guy Shepherdson: The first time I played there was in 2004 and it was only my second game for the Brumbies. I was pretty overwhelmed anyway but going into that cauldron of 45,000 seething South African maniacs is fairly intimidating not to mention the 15 gigantic, angry Bulls players on the field was certainly a very an intimidating sight. Over the years you grow in confidence and you learn how to deal with situations like that and it’s something you’ve got to use to your advantage and use that excitement as a positive rather than something to be fearful of.
 
BJ: Every time teams play in Pretoria and Johannesburg there is always talk about altitude affecting a team’s performance. How much of a difference does playing at altitude make?
GS: I certainly think it is a factor particularly early in the week. After a few training runs, you do notice yourself getting a bit short of breath. But as we’ve been here for a week we’ve somewhat acclimatised to the conditions. Whether you like it or not come Friday night we’ll be blowing, it shouldn’t make too much difference and as professional players it’s up to us to deal with it and get on with the job.

BJ: What are you expecting from a big Bulls pack this weekend?
GS: They like to use the set piece, use their big forwards in the driving mauls and they like to kick a lot. They’re a physical, combative team and like to use the size of their pack to their advantage and play field position. That’s the way they play, they’re quite strong at it and they’ll be confident after a good win against the Waratahs.

BJ: How important is it for the CA Brumbies to win their last two matches of the season?
GS: We place importance on winning every match we play, so these two matches are no different. We’re not worrying too much about the Force game at the moment but it’s important we put last week’s disappointment behind us. We feel that we did play some pretty good rugby for a lot of that game and were unlucky at times. We need to take that attitude we had in defence and the physicality we had against the Stormers and capitalise on the opportunities we do create against the Bulls.

BJ: There is a facial hair competition taking place among the squad on tour. Who are the leading contenders with a week remaining?
GS: That’s a tough one but I think I’m favourite for the wooden spoon. There is some pretty ordinary facial hair going around; John Ulugia's got this strange goatee that consists of about 10 long hairs. Al Campbell’s been sporting some reasonable growth but otherwise there are a lot of very ordinary moustaches and beards going around.