With their 55-15 victory over the Dragons from Newport in Wales on Saturday afternoon at Loftus Versfeld, the Bulls repeated their performance from the previous United Rugby Championship (URC) season by finishing second on the log following the conclusion of the current season’s league phase.

After Saturday’s runaway victory, during which they crossed the goal line nine times, Jake White’s men will now play against Scottish club Edinburgh in the quarter-finals of the tournament on Saturday, May 31 at Loftus Versfeld.

The home team completely dominated the first half and for Ruan Nortjé and his teammates the biggest part of their mission against the Dragons was already completed shortly before half-time, when their hooker, Akker van der Merwe, scored the fourth try for a bonus point from a rolling maul after a five-meter lineout.

Dawid Kriel, Cobus Wiese and Sebastiaan de Klerk were the other try scorers in the first half.

After the Bulls fell asleep for the first ten minutes of the second half, they suddenly found new life when Van der Merwe scored his second try from a similar situation to his first. Then it was one-way traffic again, with the exception of three occurrences of lost focus and consequent slips on defence for the Bulls, where the visitors were able to put points on the scoreboard with three tries.

Sergeal Petersen (x2), Marcell Coetzee and Devon Williams scored the home team’s other tries.

Coetzee’s appearance on the field from the bench also had something to do with the new energy in the team, but the one man who made a point loud and clear in what was possibly his last game at Loftus, was replacement scrumhalf, Bernard van der Linde. The flow and momentum his play and energy provided to the Bulls was a revelation and an aspect that has been lacking with their attack for a long time.

Was it a huge mistake for the Bulls to let Van der Linde go to play for Johan van Graan’s Bath in England? It will be hard to convince the spectators at Loftus otherwise. Here we are dealing with a man who exudes ‘X-factor’ throughout his entire approach to rugby. Don’t be surprised if we see this Bronkhorstspruit native in action in an England jersey in the future.

* Although the Bulls’ management, and especially the Director of Rugby, Jake White, is regularly criticized by some armchair experts, after the first four seasons of URC rugby the Bulls have established themselves under his leadership as the most consistent South African participant in this competition.

The Bulls and the Stormers are the only South African teams in the competition to have qualified for the play-off rounds in all four seasons of the URC tournament since it was introduced in its current format in the 2022/23 season. Both teams have reached the final twice, but the Bulls have qualified for home games in the quarter-finals three times, meaning they are the local team with the most consistent performance in the league phase of the tournament.

Can White’s men finally shake off the monkey on their back this year to be able to display the URC trophy alongside all their other silverware in Loftus Versfeld’s showcase after the final on 14 June? Well, on paper all that is needed is three wins, two of which will definitely be at home at Loftus Versfeld.

However, play-off games is about percentage rugby. What is needed in reality on the field and in the minds of the Bulls players is 240 minutes of focus on attack and defence, courage and clinical effectiveness. This means eliminating or minimizing unforced errors to maintain momentum in each match.

Add to that not only dominance in set-piece situations and clever kicking, but also the importance of dominating the breakdown.  Never forget the performance of the Stormers’ effective fetcher, Deon Fourie, in the final of the first URC tournament in 2022. He was the difference between winning and losing that day for the Bulls, whose style requires them to build momentum to dominate.

And of course, play-off games is about taking your points when the opportunity arises. There is no bonus points in play-off rugby.

There can be no doubt that the Bulls have the physical ability to see it through to the end this time. But strong minds and good leadership will also be crucial.

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram