Steyn boots Bulls to victory
24 Feb 2012
RYAN VREDE watched Morne Steyn score all the Bulls’ points in their 18-13 victory over the Sharks in a compelling match at Loftus.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is a firm believer in Steyn’s match-winning ability with the boot and tonight he displayed his value in tight contests, his five penalties and a drop-goal starting the Bulls’ new era in the best possible manner.
The Bulls started poorly then morphed into their archetypically efficient self, with Steyn’s tactical kicking and goal kicking central to their success. The method is well known and predictable, but when it is executed with the efficiency it was in the second half the Bulls are nearly impossible to beat.
The Sharks, starved of possession, grew increasingly desperate, and that desperation manifested in their attacks becoming progressively more cavalier. One such move late in the piece dragged them back into the match, but the Bulls were resolute in defence under enormous pressure. The nature of this victory will be an important part of this young Bulls side’s education. For the 40 minutes when it counted they conjured the tactical intelligence and granitic spirit of the championship sides that have preceded them.
There was also an interesting sub-plot to emerge. The performances of youngsters Juandre Kruger, Francois Hougaard, Francois Venter, CJ Stander, JJ Engelbrecht, Pat Lambie, Marcell Coetzee and Anton Bresler suggested that South African rugby has a bright future.
The first half was a forgettable affair. There was always going to be energy, physicality and intensity but neither team managed to channel those things to their advantage on attack. A scoreless first half bore testament to this, with a string of fundamental handling errors (the majority committed by the Bulls) and ill-discipline robbing the contest of any flow.
Both sides struggled to control possession through multiple phases. Certainly some brutal defence contributed to their struggles in this regard, but that alone cannot mitigate this shortcoming given the calibre of players on show. They often went wide without earning the right to do so through purposeful phase play. A measure of pragmatism was lacking, with little appreciation shown for playing in the opposition’s territory and backing pressure defence to force errors.
This all changed for the Bulls in the second half and they systematically built a lead after forcing errors from the Sharks in kickable positions. The Sharks will lament three missed penalties, two of which you would have backed Lambie to bank. But overall they were outsmarted by a superior side on the night, with Steyn securing yet another famous Bulls win at Loftus.
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337 Comments
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24 Feb 2012, 20:39 pm
great try sharks.initial pass looked forward.
24 Feb 2012, 20:40 pm
Boetes!! and that is how you score a Try! Take note bulls..
24 Feb 2012, 20:40 pm
eish can they score another that is the big question..
24 Feb 2012, 20:41 pm
Indeed! A try!
24 Feb 2012, 20:41 pm
@CAPECRUSADER(CAPECRUSADER)-151: yes may have been. Still a well worked try though.
24 Feb 2012, 20:42 pm
Guppies got belief again.
24 Feb 2012, 20:42 pm
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-147:
Bulls = kick and chase.
Sharks = do nothing but wait for mistakes.
Stormers = Tackle
Cheetahs and Lions = Run, pass, kick, tackle, run, pass, score TRIES.
I just hope that the Lions are off their game tomorrow.
24 Feb 2012, 20:42 pm
Jock looking forward more to scot game than stormers
24 Feb 2012, 20:42 pm
come on Sharks
24 Feb 2012, 20:43 pm
it’s now a question of which team is the fittest.
24 Feb 2012, 20:43 pm
Talk about a game of two halves. Sharks have now come alive.
24 Feb 2012, 20:44 pm
Is it my imagination or does Warren Brosnihan have a mancrush on Craig Burden?
He keeps expecting some action from the hooker.
24 Feb 2012, 20:45 pm
Common Varkies…….
24 Feb 2012, 20:46 pm
JPP has also been awesome today.
24 Feb 2012, 20:46 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-158:
I must say I can’t wait to see the Stormers. It’s been a longggggggg time since we’ve cheered on the CT boys if you consider the Currie cup is just a training exercise these days.
24 Feb 2012, 20:47 pm
What did Pierre do so far
24 Feb 2012, 20:48 pm
@YoMama(YoMama)-164: All those Cape Town locals can’t wait to support the Canes against the Stormers, heh?
24 Feb 2012, 20:48 pm
Lol Bulls steal another lineout!
24 Feb 2012, 20:48 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-166:
Captain a winning team.
24 Feb 2012, 20:49 pm
That’s game. Second half was a lot better viewing.
24 Feb 2012, 20:49 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-166:
Signed a few copies of his book on the sidelines for fans I think… Because I didnt notice him on the field.
24 Feb 2012, 20:50 pm
@YoMama(YoMama)-169:
Just remember, there are more South African fans in Auckland than Kiwi fans in Cape Town.
24 Feb 2012, 20:52 pm
congrats bulls
24 Feb 2012, 20:54 pm
@CAPECRUSADER(CAPECRUSADER)-173:
Good show.
24 Feb 2012, 20:54 pm
Well done Bulls. But Sharks ran them close.
And this conference is going to be close affair. It’ll come down to home games.
24 Feb 2012, 20:55 pm
That’s 3 from 3 for the katman.
Well done Bulls. Hard luck Sharks. How good was Juandre Kruger.
24 Feb 2012, 20:55 pm
Congrats Bulls, Sharks dissapointing, didnt ring my bell.
24 Feb 2012, 20:56 pm
Tac you can come back now.
24 Feb 2012, 20:56 pm
Ahem.
24 Feb 2012, 20:56 pm
Don’t know what to make of this game…
24 Feb 2012, 20:56 pm
” compelling match at Loftus.”
BWahahahahahaha
24 Feb 2012, 20:57 pm
Well Daniel cost th Sharks that match – his 3 points that he gifted to Steyn and Kruger stealing that last lineout ball from him. Very very nice.
Botes was a mongrel – did in 10 minutes what the skipper Daniel failed to do the entire match.
Of the two captains I would say that Daniel does not earn his position on the field. He is kak but he is the guppy captain and I like it.
24 Feb 2012, 20:59 pm
What a cr *p game.
The Bulls didn’t even play rugby. All they could do was up ‘n under. Zero attacking threat.
If the Sharks had been half competitive they would have won that game easily. But they were utter *****. They didn’t even participate in minutes 41 to 70. Last season I said Plumtree must go. He at least picked a more youthful team this year… only because he was forced to by retirements… but my doubts and reservations are still there. Another mediocre season and Plumtree must hop on his bike.
Let’s hope the quality of rugby improves.
24 Feb 2012, 21:00 pm
@Mighty Horua(Mighty Horua)-181: I was compelled to watch Notting Hill instead …
24 Feb 2012, 21:02 pm
@RL(RL)-182: You are basing this on what, 1 game and now he does not deserve a place on the team.. Bit much RL. Wait for Alberts and Deysel to come back then it will be harder for him to earn his place if he continues with that form. Stegman had a better game for sure. Juandré Kruger great game!
24 Feb 2012, 21:02 pm
Notting Hill???
Ag nee man
24 Feb 2012, 21:02 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-183: how weird hey – losing to a team that doesn’t play rugby – a team that enjoyed 56% posession and dominated territory in the second half. I am disgusted in that Bulls performance!
But my pick was 100% correct – Bulls by 5
24 Feb 2012, 21:05 pm
@RL(RL)-187: Bulls kicked everything into the night sky. But they caught it well too. Must have practiced that one boring tactic to death in the preseason. Won’t be a surprise to the next team though.
24 Feb 2012, 21:05 pm
Congrats Bulls…!!
Congrats Juandre Kruger…!! Brilliant in the air….!
Tough luck Sharks…
Altogether a pretty untidy disjointed game though…
24 Feb 2012, 21:05 pm
LOL
“we won about 3 balls and we kept them under pressure” somebody tell Vic he is no longer the Bulls captain – he can keep the “Vic”tory speeches to himself.
24 Feb 2012, 21:07 pm
Whichever way you want to slice it or dice it, winning ugly is still winning.
It’s still early days.
24 Feb 2012, 21:07 pm
Anyway hard luck Guppies you won a bonus point.
Bullies well kicked and well contested there – Kruger I take back what I said. You are not kak …… but Flip still is.
24 Feb 2012, 21:08 pm
Congrats to all the Bulls fans…
No matter what anyone says…
Your team has got the conference poll position…!!
24 Feb 2012, 21:08 pm
@IAAS(I am a stormer)-191: let’s see how many tries the Bulls score this season… up’n unders will be worked out by the rest pretty soon, then what?
24 Feb 2012, 21:08 pm
Farkit. I’m not used to this kind of stress anymore.
Well done Bulls. You could see that most of their combinations are new and frankly the backline had to be totally reorganized after JP fouled Sadie off the field.
Engelbrecht was game, but so clueless in the midfield that he got in the way of his own players half the time. Not his fault, though. He never trained at centre, and did well on defense under the circumstances.
Also, the Sharks try was very good – if netball passes to your team mate 2 yards in front of you were legal in rugby. Which they aren’t. Hence no try.
In any case, this young Bulls team needed this win, and I’m just thankful they pulled it through.
If they can take the Cheetahs in Bloem, they could be 2 from 2 going into the tough part of the season against the overseas teams.
P.S.
Hope Sadie recovers quickly from JP driving him head first into the ground off the ball.
24 Feb 2012, 21:09 pm
Alright.
Draw a line.
Stormers next.
Here we come.
24 Feb 2012, 21:10 pm
great start by charo in superbru………not!
0/3
and i’m not too confident for my picks tomorrow either.
eish, must be the doffest rugby supporter in the land.
24 Feb 2012, 21:10 pm
PS hope Lambie’s ok after a bully boot in the back of the head.
24 Feb 2012, 21:11 pm
bulls played to their strengt and it worked for them.it might not be pretty but it sure as hell won them the game tonight.guppy supporters just have to take this one on the chin.
24 Feb 2012, 21:12 pm
JP will be cited for that “tackle” on Sadie.
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