Bulls fans are looking for answers after three home defeats
Bulls supporters are on the warpath after their team's performances over the past month and many questions will have to be answered – mainly on the field of play – if a catastrophe is to be prevented at Loftus Versfeld.
Supporters of the Bulls went through a lot of emotions in a short time this past weekend.
To begin with there was frustration during the first Currie Cup game of the season. Then followed shame, after the Bulls’ humiliating 15-63 beating against the Pumas. Later the anger and outrage boiled over
How on earth did the proud Bulls of Loftus Versfeld end up in this situation? Three humiliating defeats in a row at home, after it was previously boasted that this stadium – sometimes also called ‘Fort Loftus’ – had once again become a feared ally of the Bulls since Jake White took over as Director of Rugby in March 2020.
Until now, the majority of supporters of the Bulls still believed that the team’s problems were just a temporary slump. After all, they are still in the race to reach the play-off phase of the United Rugby Championship (URC), while they have already qualified for the play-off phase in the European Rugby Champions Cup.
So what now? How do you ignore the public’s insinuations that all is not well at Loftus? After all, more than half of the players who ran out against the Pumas on Sunday are regular campaigners in the Bulls’ URC team.
The defeats against the Stormers and the Lions in the URC were not big, but loyal supporters will soon tell you it is about the manner in which the Bulls lost. In both games, the team dominated almost every statistic, but still lost on the scoreboard.
This could indicate one of two things – a problem with a hostile referee or a flawed team that who cannot take opportunities to finish and score.
A thorough analysis shows that there were undoubtedly problems with poor refereeing decisions, especially in the Bulls’ last two URC games. But that wasn’t the main reason why they lost.
It’s rather the problem with finishing – the ever-present unnecessary mistakes that creep in and destroy momentum. Losing possession at critical moments. The weekly beatings at the breakdown points. The struggle in the scrum. And then – especially against the Pumas – poor (sometimes pathetic) defence.
Three critical flaws currently stand out with the Bulls, which are not really a big problem with other SA franchises.
Firstly, the team concedes hopelessly too many penalties at set scrums. It’s clearly mostly technical problems or referee interpretations. On this, leadership is urgently needed on the field. You can’t play traditional Bulls rugby without having a dominating scrum.
Secondly, there is the momentum the team is losing due to problems at the breakdown points. These aspect of the game have become equally important in modern times as scrums and lineouts – as a base to attack from, but especially to break the opponents’ momentum. It’s time for the Bulls to consider and handle it accordingly.
The third aspect concerns the control of the game and the importance of a halfback pairing who can take the lead in this regard. One can say the following about this – the Bulls are probably the easiest team to analyse by opponents, because everyone knows how their halfback pairing will play. They especially need more rugby IQ at fly half. Morné Steyn is a legend but he really needs to retire now and the fact that he doesn’t play regularly shows on the pitch.
After Sunday, there are of course also questions about the management team in the Bulls’ Currie Cup setup. How can a man with the CV of Gert Smal be an assistant coach? Is he really dedicated in this job? Is Edgar Marutlulle really in charge? It seems like this setup is a ticking time bomb.
The Bulls undoubtedly have the most dynamic management team off the field, starting with the president and the CEO. There is still time to turn the ship around in the Currie Cup series, while theoretically the union can still win both the URC and European championship.
But there will have to be a lot of deep thinking about the way forward. About adding staff in the team management; about the game pattern and playing style and about the composition of the team in this regard.
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