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, 21:12 pm
Watching the highlights of Crusaders v Blues, supposedly the 2 best teams in NZ and the stadium is only half full.
Shocking.
Clearly Super rugby has lost its fizz in NZ.
24 Feb 2012, 21:13 pm
so capo t u r d is back as capecrusader… can’t the t u r d take a hint?
24 Feb 2012, 21:14 pm
JP was good at 13 tonight.
24 Feb 2012, 21:15 pm
Whitehead had a quiet debut.
McLeod looked sharper than Michalak at 9.
24 Feb 2012, 21:15 pm
Right on cue
24 Feb 2012, 21:17 pm
Juandre Kruger picking up where he left off when he departed Loftus for Northampton 4 years ago. Brillaint player.
Flip not so much. I actually prefer Wilhelm Steenkamp to him now. Wilhelm grew tremendously as a player while getting starting game time at the Cheetahs and is now far better than when he left the Bulls a couple of years ago.
Stegmann immense tonight, as was our front row. Chilli take a bow too.
Now if we can just get our backline combinations going, we could be very formiddable this season.
Still, our youngsters beat the “favourite team to top the SA log this season”. So round 1 mission accomplished.
24 Feb 2012, 21:17 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-205:
Indeed Dawn. You know I’m not one for swearing, hence it’s better for me not to post during game time.
24 Feb 2012, 21:19 pm
Scrappy game by both sides.
Bulls youngsters would have learned valuable lessons tonight.
24 Feb 2012, 21:19 pm
Apparently the Bulls only practice kicking for 20min each monday. I can only assume that’s because they term the other training sessions chasing, catching and punting.
Seriously though, was a decent enough game once it got going, but real evidence of rustiness from both sides – which was only made more prominent by the impact of substitutes. Neither side really playing as teams yet.
24 Feb 2012, 21:20 pm
Right.
Now I’m waiting for Piranha 3D
24 Feb 2012, 21:22 pm
@Pot Blou Gevaar(Pot Blou Gevaar)-208:
Morne Steyn is amazing. Started the game with 0 out of 2 and ended up with a 75% success rate for the night, drop goal included.
24 Feb 2012, 21:22 pm
Scrappy game, could have gone either way. Nothing to really write home about, don’t think this result says a great deal about either of these teams.
In the circumstances, the home team won and that is not surprising.
But at least the Sharks looked like scoring a try (and they did). A bit worrying for the Bulls that they looked so one dimensional. The foreign teams will unpick them like a bra.
24 Feb 2012, 21:22 pm
“The Sharks, starved of possession, grew increasingly desperate, and that desperation manifested in their attacks becoming progressively more cavalier.”
This is written as if it a negative. This is what is wrong with rugby for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good scrap, and high intensity close test matches, but I would really like it if we could tweak the rules such that playing with adventure was more successful and rewarding.
Anyway, congrats to the Bulls. I don’t think they were necessarily the better team, both were quite even. But you certainly applied pressure at key times and took the points on offer.
24 Feb 2012, 21:24 pm
**** best writing the bulls off and believes that the stormers will carry the saffa flag.he might just be spot on here.
24 Feb 2012, 21:25 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-212:
Except it wasn’t a try. Unless you choose to ignore the 2 yards forward pass-me-the-parcel exchange between Jordaan and the guy directly ahead of him.
24 Feb 2012, 21:26 pm
@Tartan(Tartan)-209:
Well said.., early days and both teams can only get better.
JPP showed nice touches at 13.
Juandre immense in the context of the game.
24 Feb 2012, 21:26 pm
Shark are missing their big carriers. They’re also short a quality lock and a loosehead replacement.
I thought Bosman was great when he came on. One of the best passers of the ball.
24 Feb 2012, 21:28 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-215: looked like a try to me and Kaplan agreed.
24 Feb 2012, 21:28 pm
A win is a win. Ask the Crusaders.
24 Feb 2012, 21:29 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-217: last season showed us that Bosman is more substitute than starter, but I agree, he added some verve.
24 Feb 2012, 21:29 pm
Pass was miles forward. Kaplan was miles away.
24 Feb 2012, 21:29 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-217:
The thing is, this Bulls team has so much improving to do before it reaches its potential, while the Sharks have nowhere to go really other than getting a few big bashers to get them more go forward ball in the loose.
After Sadie went off and Engelbrecht had to go to centre in the 14th mintue, I reckon the Bulls entire backline plan was stuffed and they just reverted to winning the game by any means necessary.
These combinations are so raw they probably don’t know each others names yet.
24 Feb 2012, 21:29 pm
I guess the Sharks will have a moerse score to settle in Durban…
24 Feb 2012, 21:30 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-211:
IMO, still SA best at 10.
With Jantjes & Goosen in the wings. Lambie more suited to play 15 IMO. It’s going to be exciting to see how Hougaard and Steyn’s partnership develop.
24 Feb 2012, 21:32 pm
This Sharks team has so much improving to do – Whitehead, Lambie, Jordaan, JP, Sithole, Mvovo – man those are exciting players. They will gel and they will score tries. And to seal the deal they will have some real star forwards to come back to add to their strength.
Doesn’t matter who the Bulls have at the moment, they play predictable rugby and when they’re on the back foot they stumble. They will be unpicked in the weeks to come.
24 Feb 2012, 21:33 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-218:
It looked “OK” to you, did it?
I can only assume you chose that moment to go fetch another Amstel from the fridge.
The guy didn’t pass the ball to his left or right. He ran himself into a corner, with his own player in front of him, so he just stopped and handed the ball to the guy in front of him instead of running into him.
Most ludicrous thing I’ve seen in some time on a rugby field.
24 Feb 2012, 21:34 pm
jordaan had some zip – didn’t look out of his league.
bosman seems to have his confidence back.
coetzee was isolated too often – when alberts gets back we will see more midfield advances.
not too disappointed – we escaped with a point from an away game at loftus – most teams would be happy with that.
that jpp steal from the mullet was the moment of the game for me.
24 Feb 2012, 21:36 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-217:
Bosman and McLeod completely changed the attack from the Sharks, big impacts from both.
The real issue with Bosman, for me anyway, has always been how static he is – he finds space well and has excellent distribution from hand, but you always wonder how far away he is from being properly clattered.
24 Feb 2012, 21:37 pm
Well done Bulls! Not many people gave you a chance to win this game. Shame on Kaplan and the one touch judge. Could they not see the forward pass or did they not want to see it? Hopefully that “illegal” bonus point will not have a negative effect for one of the SA teams at the end of the series.
Kruger was very impressive. I still prefer Vermaak at 9 and Hougaard on the wing. The injurie of Sadie was untimely and the Bulls is in trouble with Olivier and Sadie out. Yes, the skop en storm tactics worked, but I really hope they have a plan B.
The Sharks really missed the Beast, Alberts and Deysel – but that is part of the game. Pieterson did well and Jordaan made a good impression at the end. The Sharks will be back.
24 Feb 2012, 21:46 pm
durban-born kaplan really tried his best to keep the sharks in the game.on this display i believe the sharks will be 0-2 next week….depending on the ref’s performance.
24 Feb 2012, 21:49 pm
Magtag this is a kuk movie
24 Feb 2012, 21:51 pm
197@charo…lol…me to, I got 1 right.
24 Feb 2012, 21:51 pm
The other thing I was slightly wary of was the Bulls relatively light pre season program.
This Bulls A team played only 1 pre season game, and guys like Spies and vd Merwe haven’t played since 2011.
In the last 10 minutes you could see the likes of Stegman, Spies and even Hougaard gasping for air as the lack of match fitness started getting to them.
This approach carries risk in that it makes your early games difficult to win, but your guys will probably be fresher later in the tournament.
The Bulls managed to pull it through tonight and if they can win next week, it’s game on for the rest of the tournament.
24 Feb 2012, 21:51 pm
What an incredibly boring match between 2 talent-deficient teams constrained by any minuscule belief in attacking rugby. typical
No wonder the whinging Yappies readily produce such Quarterfinal chop suey
24 Feb 2012, 21:52 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-231:
What were you expecting. It’s called “3D Pirhanha”.
24 Feb 2012, 21:52 pm
What an incredibly boring match between 2 talent-deficient teams constrained by any minuscule belief in attacking rugby. typical bonehead bashathon
No wonder the whinging Yappies readily produce such Quarterfinal chop suey
24 Feb 2012, 21:52 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-225: Hey mate,you sound like a sour loser…get a grip.Your team has done well but not well enough.Give credit where it’s due,there was a lot of pressure on these Bulls youngsters and they got their win.After the whole new backline was interrupted by Sadie’s injury after 12 minutes, I thought they did well. Let’s not talk about the line judge fault by penalising Kirchner for NOT being out of his 25 and the forward pass try.See you again at Kings Park later the season.
24 Feb 2012, 21:55 pm
Tac
Waiting for all the spring break tweens to get chowed.
24 Feb 2012, 21:58 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-195:
“Hope Sadie recovers quickly from JP driving him head first into the ground off the ball”
He will get away with it, wanna take a bet?
24 Feb 2012, 21:58 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-238:
Worst movie of that type I’ve had the misfortune to channel hop to was called:
“Spring Break Shark Attack”
Kak acting
Kak editing
Poorly copied discovery channel footage clumsily interspersed with a bunch of bathers at the beach, followed by some weird looking blood floating in the water.
So when I saw the title 3D Piranha I immediately departed from the TV and made sure my PVR wasn’t accidentally set on record.
Looks like you did not have such a lucky escape.
24 Feb 2012, 21:59 pm
@Tjokker(Tjokker)-229:
> still prefer Vermaak at 9 and Hougaard on the wing
Same here, he’s a incredible ball player but at scrumhalf he doesn’t get the space or time to do antything with the ball
He still needs to impress at scrummy, he’s very average, his service to Morne was iffy and he was sometimes slow to get to the ball, compared to on the wing where you never know what he’s going to try next
When Sadie went off they should have brought Vermaak on and moved Hougie to centre, he would have been dangerous in the midfield
24 Feb 2012, 22:01 pm
This is along a very similar vein no pun intended. Best part for me is when they all get eaten.
S what I need after long week.
24 Feb 2012, 22:04 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-242:
Hehe.
I got my fix a little earlier – between about 7 and 9pm. Only this time it was the Sharks that got bloodied by a bunch of barely tweens.
24 Feb 2012, 22:05 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-241: Yes,that might have worked well,but I think the Bulls want to give Hougaard as much time at scrumhalf as possible.After all,he can only get better at scrumhalf if he gets as much as possible game time there.But he wasn’t very sharp at all today,which was pity.
24 Feb 2012, 22:06 pm
@Loftus(Loftus)-244:
I thought his box kicking was actually much improved.
But I agree that him getting the ball from a standing start isn’t the same as him running onto the ball at pace.
I too prefer him as a strike runner, rather than a distributor of the ball.
24 Feb 2012, 22:08 pm
Normally not my cup of darjeeling but not in mood for cerebral!
24 Feb 2012, 22:12 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-245:
Since Naas we’ve never had a playmaker flyhalf and all the scrumhalves since were the playmakers
Robert du Preez, Joost and Fourie du Preez all were the generals while the flyhalf just went along
Now while Hougie’s a ballplayer with the X factor, he’s no general, and without a tactical brain on 9 and 10, we’ll have a hard time dominating
Vermaak is more of a general, although no Fourie
24 Feb 2012, 22:12 pm
Sharks played well above themselves for most of the first half they were all over Bulls who had to defend like Trojans to keep Sharkie Varkies out…
It was anyone’s game till Bulls got the momentum going through min 50-70 when the up and under pressure built too much and Bulls took upper hand. Kruger was Sharks nemesis tonight and Basson took some good clean high kicks off Sharks…
Mcleod – Bosman was better combo than Michalak – Lambie
Plumtree got a problem decision because Lambie better at 15 but Viljoen got too much talent to play off bench. JPP had some good plays but tried to dance too much from static positions and only really looked dangerous when running from deep. Whitehead and Jordaan looked a better combo ultimately in my opinion.
Bulls midfield looks a whole lot better without Olivier.. if Sadie injured then they going to have to shuffle around.. pity if all that promising talent gets snuffed out already from one injury so early.
Venter looks the business and Engelbrecht looks better out at wing. Kirchner the usual brainlessness though he might try gamely his decision making is poor.
That was an immense onslaught from two opposition titans from first game up.. remains to be seen how much can be still built on these performances.
Hougaard learned some bad habits from FdP.. hanging around taking ages to clear from base of the scrum is a poor tactic and should be rooted out of his game..; cost Bulls way too many opportunities from static 2nd phase ball.
Impressive performances from following
Both front rows
Kruger best player on the park, Sykes put in some hard hits and yards early on then faded.. same with Vd Merwe
Both No.7′s were huge, Coetsee and Potgieter put in big games, just need to settle it down a little and channel the intensity towards a more close knit pattern playing closer to their team mates not trying to bust through alone… Botes showed all the high hopes how.. including Kankowski, and Spies.
Daniel – Stegmann was a close encounter, Stegmann doing plenty rough and tumble in the tight loose and Daniel further out.
Bulls might still need a true play maker though if Sadie is out, the Hougaard – Steyn channel will get stagnant once again, and Venter won’t change the one dimensional patterns on his own.
24 Feb 2012, 22:13 pm
Hooray, Super 15 is back…..
@Dawn(Dawn)-246:
Dawn, are you doing superBru? If not, why not?
24 Feb 2012, 22:15 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-248:
Thanks Skop, good post there.
I actually got a feeling of what happened at Loftus today!
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