Is the Bulls era over?
24 Jul 2006
The Blue Bulls are a team in crisis and in need of a drastic overhaul if they are to continue to remain a threat in this years’ Absa Currie Cup competition.
Following the second home Currie Cup defeat of the season to the Sharks at the weekend, the Bulls are clinging to fourth place, just two points ahead of Griquas. Griquas travel to Pretoria on Saturday for a match that is shaping as a humdinger.
The Bulls, missing a host of top players, have struggled to stamp their authority on a competition which they have dominated for the best part of four years.
Three Currie Cup titles in-a-row is no mean feat. And they were only denied making it four on the trot in the dying minutes of the final last year.
Since then though – and the Vodacom Super 14 apart – the wheels have started to come off. The quality back-up that has served the Bulls so well since 2002 is not delivering the same impact as in previous years.
An outdated game plan may be also to blame, while the decision to relieve Heyneke Meyer of the hands on duty of coaching the team seems to have had a negative impact on the team. Since his departure the Bulls have lost twice (both at home) and have only a solitary win against log basement-dwellers, the Pumas, to show for their efforts.
Coach Pote Human remained defiant saying the team had learnt from their mistakes and they would be much harder to beat in the second half of the Currie Cup.
“The guys have taken the defeats to heart and we realise we need to adapt or die,” Human told keo.co.za. “The Bulls have a proud tradition in this competition and it is still a long way from being decided.
It must also be remembered that the Cheetahs struggled in the round-robin and finished fourth on the log, but came good winning both their semi-final and final away from home.
Meanwhile, Heyneke Meyer, the man that brought those three titles to Loftus is currently in England on fact-finding mission.
By Andrew Hollely
106 Comments
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25 Jul 2006, 09:53 am
Yes, bring back all those springbok bulls so they can play worse!
Maak die bulle almal bokke…die grootste Joke ooit!
Love die post met die ou wat nie op sy eie lys kan tel nie…tipies!
25 Jul 2006, 10:02 am
Die Currybeker word nie in middel Julie gewen nie
25 Jul 2006, 10:04 am
The stampkar is stalling – love it:-)
Griquas, tear the kalvies a new one this weekend!
25 Jul 2006, 10:35 am
Nee Eksteen, Capebull hy word nie, but we are in desperate need to come up with something new and fresh in our rugby, and therefore I hope Bulls do not win the CC this year. Otherwise Jake and everybody will reckon it is still OK to play with three game plans: Plan A, Plan A and Plan A.
Forward domination the way we did it in the pre-professional era will never be achieved again. We will need to start playing cleverer not harder, and BB/Bok gameplan does not provide for that at the moment. Where are all those youngsters of BB’s?
SA provincial teams will have to start thinking like the French. They lose weekday games when they tour because it is not important, but win the tests. The begin all and end-all in SA should not be to win the CC, but to make our Bok team the strongest.
25 Jul 2006, 14:22 pm
Guy’s, I must be missing something! I’m a WP fan, BUT I did’nt think the Bulls looked too bad on Saturday. Considering they are playing without some key players, they still looked dangerous everytime they got the ball. An unlucky try at the end spoilt what should have been a well ground out win.
25 Jul 2006, 19:57 pm
Gordmeister
They looked fine on Saturday at the promotion of a local car dealer. It was Friday night that they fell to pieces.
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