Bulls bully Blues
10 Mar 2013
The Bulls physically battered the Blues into submission to win for the first time in Super Rugby history at Auckland’s Eden Park.
The Bulls won 28-21 against a home team that physically took a beating.
Blues coach Sir John Kirwan made six changes to his starting XV and the powerful Bulls approach never allowed the newcomers to settle.
Kirwan at halftime bemoaned his side’s lack of passion, pride and commitment, but the Bulls were physically too strong for the Blues youngsters, who got their first taste of Pretoria’s finest.
The Bulls, as the Cheetahs did against the Highlanders, showed greater control, composure and appreciation for field position in giving the hosts a Super Rugby lesson. The South Africans were also physically imposing and did brilliantly to last the 80 minutes, given they only arrived in Auckland from Pretoria on Wednesday.
The Blues, under pressure throughout, fought back from 15-6 to momentarily lead 16-15 on 53 minutes. But the Bulls scored through flanker Arno Botha from the resulting kick-off to restore order and Morne Steyn ensured the victory with a penalty from the last kick of the game.
The Bulls scored three tries and could have had a few more. They played with enterprise and always looked dangerous on attack. The midfield of Wynand Olivier and JJ Englebrecht was strong but it was the strength in the contact that was decisive.
Rene Ranger played well for the Blues, as did captain Ali Williams and fullback Charles Piutau, but the rest were a shambles.
Williams described the effort as ‘piss poor’ and said the team would have lost respect with the performance after working so hard in the season’s first two games to win back respect.
The win is the first for every Bulls player, be it at Super Rugby or for the Boks, at Eden Park.
It completed a South African 3-0 clean sweep weekend against New Zealand teams, which like a Bulls win in Auckland doesn’t happen often. Enjoy it because it was fully deserved.
By Mark Keohane
852 Comments
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10 Mar 2013, 18:19 pm
@Jeraldjay-631:
Cheetahs loosies were easily best on show.
10 Mar 2013, 18:21 pm
Got to give credit where it is due….Spies has seemingly decided to actually play as an 8…..and looking good…..impressive stuff…..can only be good for to keep Vermeulen honest.
10 Mar 2013, 18:21 pm
@Jeraldjay-631:
out and out bullshit, JJ
you got 20 free minutes against 14 men and still it was evident you were against the wall and the game was in the balance for its entirety.
Bulls loose trio were by far the pick of the weekend with the Cheetahs trio coming second and Stormers third.
10 Mar 2013, 18:22 pm
@grant10-650: Thats why I included Fourie – he is a classic fetcher. Should be moved to 6 permanently
10 Mar 2013, 18:22 pm
@hendrikp-651:
disagree.
Bulls
Cheetahs (close second)
Stormers
Sharks
Kings
10 Mar 2013, 18:23 pm
@grant10-652: yes and in addition to that we have other 8´s stepping up from Kings to Cheetahs – so the compettion is stiff and backup is guaranteed.
10 Mar 2013, 18:23 pm
The best fetcher in all of saffa rugby this past weekend was none other but the enigmatic man for all season’s Coenie Oosthuizen I think he should play open side flank and rewrite the credentials for the open side fetching role. Watch Jake try and pinch him to replace Pocock his fallen sir Gallant Galactic Galahad
10 Mar 2013, 18:26 pm
Cheetahs loosies should all be Boks they can replace the entire overrated Sharkishits contingent in the pecking order down to the last one.
10 Mar 2013, 18:28 pm
@Slumtown-634:
ok.
for your sake i should warn you,
you are not on HM’s wavelength
sorry
@grant10-637:
yes agreed.
10 Mar 2013, 18:28 pm
@Slumtown-654: Gets my vote….@skopdiekan-657: LOL…..Fark Coenie gets over the ball it takes a tank to get him off…..Coenie, Bissy and Brussow and the opposition will kak themselves as soon as the ball goes to ground!
10 Mar 2013, 18:28 pm
@gunther-644:
I was in Paternoster last week.
Yes, those papbekke are Bulle befok.
10 Mar 2013, 18:30 pm
@grant10-638:
Lodewyk de Jager
10 Mar 2013, 18:32 pm
@skopdiekan-657: funny, skopdiekan, I was thinking the same thing:
I don’t think Coenie is going to cut it as an international prop – his scrummaging is suspect.
So where else can he be used? Maybe hooker, but nowadays hooker also needs to be a very good scrummager.
So that only leaves fetcher flank, & Coenie is bloody good at it.
But he would need to slim down, & I guess need to work on his speed.
10 Mar 2013, 18:32 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-662: good lightie that
10 Mar 2013, 18:32 pm
@skopdiekan-657:
you are unique, Skop
classic
10 Mar 2013, 18:33 pm
Loosies Pecking order
8 Vermeulen Botha Vd Walt Spies Engelbrecht Kankowski
7 Labuscagne Elstadt Kolisi Viljoen Ps Du Toit Coetsee Potgieter
10 Mar 2013, 18:33 pm
@hendrikp-651:
Sorry but I don’t have a high regard for your opinion based on your post on this blog.
10 Mar 2013, 18:33 pm
@Angostura-663:
his bone structure doesn’t look right for weight loss though.
10 Mar 2013, 18:35 pm
i just cannot picture the Doodpoes as a maargat.
it doesn’t seem right.
10 Mar 2013, 18:35 pm
6 Oosthuizen Viljoen Fourie Brussow Kolisi Stegmann Coetsee Botes
10 Mar 2013, 18:37 pm
is it my imagination or have we run out of Kiwis today..?..
i dont understand
there’s so much good rugby to talk about…
10 Mar 2013, 18:41 pm
Skop
Do you really,really rate Coenie as the best 6 in SA?
10 Mar 2013, 18:45 pm
Arno Botha an absolute beast…….Chabal not in his class….
10 Mar 2013, 18:45 pm
the Bulls Chabal that is
10 Mar 2013, 18:48 pm
@skopdiekan-658: Ur pissed, Alberts needs to be in the lose Trio unless paired with Etzabeth at lock. What happened with the Cheetahs losies when they played the Sharks 2 weeks ago? Brussow is the only 1 who could start as a Bok at the moment.
10 Mar 2013, 18:50 pm
HM will have a hard time selecting his loosies this year.
Flo at 6 is the only given.
10 Mar 2013, 18:51 pm
Butch James should start for Sharks against Brumbies….play a 10 who plays a bit flatter than Lambie I reckon….
10 Mar 2013, 19:00 pm
@grant10-677:
shame, he has underwhelmed so far this season.
i dont think Plum picking him as the 1st choice fh minus a reliable backup to take some pressure off him was a good idea.
@grant10-673:
agreed.
he is class
i hope the Kiwis dont succeed in injuring him because they will target him, that’s for sure.
10 Mar 2013, 19:03 pm
@grant10-677:
they should go back to a rotation policy and for that Butch would be ideal provided he is still match fit and healthy.
10 Mar 2013, 19:04 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-678: I am a Lambie fan…..but something has gone wrong in his approach……this is not the way I want to see his game go….even M Steyn took the ball flatter and got his outside backs away smartly this morning….
]
as I said….1 must give credit where it is due….
10 Mar 2013, 19:11 pm
@BudYza-621: lol how old are you son?
You have been gunning for me ever since I exposed you as a dim witted fool with the brain **** of yours about the keo poll reflecting the team support of the handful of bloggers on here. You are like a mini Angrystura. Both on my *** like flies to shiiit….. you could both even be the same person by chance….
You seem to want to literally take people at their word. Today I educated you in the meaning of hyperbole. If I can though, you can take me at my word when I say this: you are a twat.
ShaunB 1 million BudYza 0
10 Mar 2013, 19:17 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-679: @grant10-680: guys the Lambster is doing just fine – it is early days still and just last week and the week before it was Lambie who was secured as the first choice Bok 10 – before the Goose and Elton leaped him.
Only in June will we know who the top 3 10′s will be.
10 Mar 2013, 19:32 pm
@grant10-680:
agreed, lots of work to do.
@RL-682:
agreed.
its a tight race at the moment, which it should be.
if i could read HM mind it’s probably:
morne
goosen
lambie (interchangeable with elton)
elton (interchangeable with lambie)
the greek (interchangeable with cronje)
cronje (interchangeable with the greek)
fouche (simply because he has gotten too little game time)
pollard (because the bulls will be strict on HM not rushing him)
grant
whoever else
10 Mar 2013, 19:33 pm
I can’t understand why AC is reluctant to play Nizaam Carr at 6. Not only does he bring speed and skill to the loose trio, and since DF want to be a hooker, he’s the best fetcher among the looseforwards…
10 Mar 2013, 19:48 pm
Lambie been thoroughly outplayed by Catrakillis twice in two games now. I think Lambiekins is Zorbas ‘lil b’tch and I think he’s starting to develop a complex about it. I mean imagine being Hms fly half elect and being thoroughly exposed by a no name goddamn Greek out of all people don’t everyone know that Greeks don’t play rugby only soccer, and now this no name soccer player is teaching this Boks no.1 contender for green and gold no.10 blazer how to play this game that is alien to his Mediterranean DNA
10 Mar 2013, 19:51 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-683: Steyn is an inigma – only in his old age his final few months as a saffa eligible #10 does he decide to play like a real 10 .
Standing flat on attack and and distributing like Carter. It would be a cruel joke if Heyneken picks him ahead of the other young players.
10 Mar 2013, 19:56 pm
Yip if A.C. played Carr 6 Kolisi 7 Vermeulen 8
Armand bench Rhodes bench Etsebeth 5 Elstadt 4 where the hell he going to play Bekker and Steenkamp in the Vodacom cup ?
Then every one and their pappas and mammas are screaming for him to play Liebenberg at 2 and Fourie at 6 so that means Fourie got to play bench as well or join Bekker and Steenkamp in the Vodacom cup squad
10 Mar 2013, 19:56 pm
@mxhosa-684:
I hope they wont waste his talent.
Saw Jho was on the Kings vodacom bench yesterday. Is he the same fellow you commented on some time ago. Is he good enough to play at super rugby level in your opinion.
10 Mar 2013, 19:58 pm
WTH
Adult babies!
10 Mar 2013, 19:59 pm
Captain Hyperbole the only edication you offered is showing everyone you have no credibilty and no intelligence. BS dribbles from your mouth onto your keyboard and then when you get challenged by Angostura and myself with facts you run and hide behind the skirt of hyperbole like a typical playground legend in his own breaktime. You said no one supported the Kings against the Force I produced facts showing at least 15 veriable instances to prove you to be the BS lying idiot you are and you scurry away to hide behind ‘hyperbole’ like the BS feeding intellectual cockroach you are.
Be a man and admit you got fact up much like your favourite leg to hump ZimBob SafariPant fact his Thai Ladyboy. Now stop wearing your red undies over your blue jeanpant and go and blow your nose on your daddys apron and go to bed.
You really are too easy. This isnt even fishing in a bucket its like clubbing helpless baby seals. I should be charged with cruelty to the mentally unprepared. You poor deprived boy. i promise I wont pick on you any more.
10 Mar 2013, 20:01 pm
Seems I set a crazy off
10 Mar 2013, 20:02 pm
Chelsea 2 Manu 2 after Manu went up 2-0 because Chelsea keeper fckd up twice. Manu running out of all that heaven sent luck The Special One’s Galacticos taking them out the champions league cup Tuesday and now Chelsea could do them a double dose of humble pie in one week.
10 Mar 2013, 20:16 pm
@skopdiekan-685:
what makes you think Pat is HM flyhalf elect?
@RL-686:
why cruel, RedGuppybull?
they all stand to gain by sharing this process imo.
10 Mar 2013, 20:18 pm
Ioane questioned by police over pub assault in Melbourne
Reds and Wallabies winger Digby Ioane will meet with Queensland Rugby Union officials on Monday to discuss his involvement in an alleged assault at a Melbourne hotel on the weekend.
Ioane, 27, was with his older brother at the Mount Erica Hotel in Prahran when his brother allegedly became involved in an altercation with another patron at about 5.40pm on Saturday.
Ioane’s team mate Quade Cooper was also at the hotel with the pair during the evening but is not believed to have been present at the time the incident occurred.
Victoria Police confirmed they were investigating the alleged assault of a Prahran man, aged 30, at a hotel on High Street.
Advertisement
“It is believed a 30-year-old Brisbane man approached a 30-year-old Prahran man and the pair then became involved in a verbal altercation,” a spokesperson said.
“It is alleged the Brisbane man has then assaulted the Prahran man, who sustained a minor leg injury. The 30-year-old Brisbane man and a 27-year-old Brisbane man are currently assisting police with enquiries. As the investigation is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
Ioane posted the following message on Twitter on Sunday evening: “I’m a lover not a fighter…. God always has my back…. #truth #Godbless my twitter friends”.
for the rest:
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/ioane-questioned-by-police-over-pub-assault-in-melbourne-20130310-2fufw.html
10 Mar 2013, 20:21 pm
@Peter Mkata-688:
Yep one in the same. Unfortunately he’s not ready for SR. He spent two years at Bulls frustrated at being behind Franna Venter and later Jan Serfontein, in the age group pecking order…. After two being selected for SA schools, two years in a row, ahead of those two respectively – he joined the Bulls believing that he was the next best thing. The Kings were ready to make him the poster boy for the new franchise, but he declined them and openly said he had no desire to play for the Kings… He probably has some psychological issues to sort out. But he only turns 21 this year, perhaps in a year he’ll be ready to take over from Dries Strauss.
10 Mar 2013, 20:30 pm
@mxhosa-695:
Just wish all turns out well for him. He is young and need some guidance. Andries is probably 30 and should work hard to be in poll position as a replacement.
Remember read in Weekend Post or dispatch over the Xmas break that he has a younger brother who is equally talented. Good that he does not have to go and stay away from his family to realise his professional dreams.
10 Mar 2013, 20:45 pm
Lol I see the senile deluded old goat now reckons Coenie Oosthuizen is the best no 6 flank in the country!
10 Mar 2013, 20:46 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-653:
Sorry, I missed your post earlier.
I thought Kolisi and Elstadt had excellent games yesterday countering Liam Messam.
Their strength with ball in hand was impressive which created the front foot ball the Stormers so desperately needed.
With all due respect the Highlanders and Blues are a distant second to the Chiefs.
10 Mar 2013, 21:27 pm
@Peter Mkata-696:
I hope so too Peter. He’d make a good combo with Mjekevu, I see the Guppies don’t rate him – currently playing club rugby… I’m tired of these big unions taking our playing, having them turn out for the baby boks, only to become vodacom cup and CC first division players.
10 Mar 2013, 22:10 pm
Congrats Bulle! Great result & definitely showing the way to beat the Blues!
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