The Bulls: Under pressure on defence
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said he rated his side's performance in Saturday's victory over the Western Force as one of the worst in his tenure as mentor of the side.
Ludeke's calm demeanor did not change after the Super Rugby match, yet he could not hide his disappointment in the aftermath of a lacklustre showing from his charges.
"In the first half they kicked long and our kicking game from that wasn't good enough," said Ludeke.
"It was definitely our worst performance in the last five years, the way we almost absorbed the pressure they applied there."
The Bulls went into the half-time break with a 14-9 lead although the Force made serious inroads after the restart to eventually enjoy a 26-19 advantage with 25 minutes left on the clock.
While Ludeke bemoaned his troops' performance he praised them in the same breath for eventually pulling through with full bonus points in the bag.
"The way we came back in the second half, the way players adjusted on the field, that was a special effort from the team," he said.
"Last year against the Blues we were in exactly in the same situation, we couldn't get out of that grip and tonight we got back.
"All credit to the captain for the way we got back to things that are working for us, the maul started working, we managed the high ball, we forced some turnovers and we converted pressure into points."
While the performance was one the Bulls would like to forget they nevertheless lead the South African Conference following two victories from two matches.
The Bulls will bank heavily on this positive momentum ahead of their tour of New Zealand and Australia, where they arguably face one of the toughest trips of all the teams.
The Pretoria-based side depart on Tuesday for Auckland where they will face the Blues on Sunday. The tussle will be followed by matches against the Crusaders, Reds and Brumbies before their first bye.
"We will take a lot of confidence away, that is what we will need on tour as you will not always have the upper-hand and you will need to grind and stick to what you are good at," the Bulls mentor said.
Ludeke will be crossing his fingers that the injuries to key personnel are not too serious and that he would be able to call on a full strength side.
Hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle and scrum-half Francois Hougaard were early casualties, while Bjorn Basson and Jacques Potgieter also retired hurt.
The coach, however, was confident that the players would be fit by next week with Basson the only serious concern.
He will also be able to call on flankers Deon Stegmann and Dewalt Potgieter, who should return from injury.
Comments
flyman says...
@ben7
After watching all their games thus far this season, it shows in the pattern of play. Maybe the coach has a different game plan in his head compared to the one that was executed. At this level you would expect a team to execute the plan near perfectly.
The only upside is that the Stormers and Sharks were even worse
Posted 03:40 05th March 2013
ferdie says...
wouldn't worry about it - every team has a match to forget, at least this one ended in a win, maybe brings the players down to earth and removes complacency which may have been n issue here playing a team with the Force's formidable reputation. Still expect to see Bulls in top half of comp, and Force well into the lower half.
Posted 01:20 04th March 2013
ben7 says...
@flyman
You obviously didn't read the article. It says it was their worst performance in 5 years.
Posted 20:11 03rd March 2013
Fatflanker says...
A mean-spirited assessment of the game from the coach. I would not be overly confident of Bulls winning the return match. Certainly a tough draw for the Bulls.
Posted 11:24 03rd March 2013
flyman says...
If thats what the top team in the Saffer conference has to offer, then the Ozzies and Kiwis can count on 5 points in the bag per game.
Posted 10:53 03rd March 2013