Reading trough all the web sites, News blogs and Sports Blogs, I started to feel uncomfortable. I am not used to the “we all stand behind the Bulls” as well as “we support the Bulls”, it is making me uneasy.Where are you Saint, we need someone to chop us down to size a bit.
The words of the song “Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble”, by Mac Davis, started ringing in my ears.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoRPohOA8WI&feature=related[/youtube]
(I thought this might fit in well here, seeing as it is usually me and a lot of muppits here)
Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble
when you’re perfect in every way.
I can’t wait to look in the mirror
cause I get better loking each day.
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble
but I’m doing the best that I can.
But let a biased Bull supporter tell you where I feel , where the Bulls are at present.
The stats are all well known, we have now won 6 out of 6, we failed to get 2 bonus points only from a perfect 30 available. Morné Steyn is leading the top points scorer table with 124 points. We have 3 players in the top 10 try scorers. So I’m doing the best that I can, I wont bring out more perfect stats.
I will now deal with a few things I read in the press.
SA Rugby says:
The Bulls dominated the set-pieces, built the phases and the overwhelming pressure told when Pierre Spies muscled his way over in the 10th minute.
However the expected procession did not materialise as the Bulls, having perhaps been lulled into complacency, squandered scoring chances and made sloppy errors that allowed the Force to flick the ball around, take it wide, and create the kind of unstructured play their high-flying visitors would have wanted to avoid.
My take on this is that we are wandering around in fairyland, thinking we are invincible. It was nice to score an average of 6 tries per match in the first 3 games but since our bye-week we were easy to read and are so predictable. The referees have slowed down on penalizing the “daylight offenses” and all of a sudden the run-like-hell-with-everything was easy to read.
What we need to do is to vary it, play with the head. The Bulls tend to make the game too fast. Vary the speed of play. Do not wait for halftime, do it during a move. Yes we can and should be more lethal, we have the experience and the right players.
Rugby 365 says:
Bizarrely the Bulls could not convert all their possession inside the 22 into points and spurned opportunities as there were too many handling errors and turnovers close to the tryline and were evidently becoming more and more frustrated.
I feel this could easily be rectified, the speed of play is getting out of control. Like I said, too fast might not be better. More accuracy is needed, more patience and more structure.
Matfield being incensed by referee Pearce’s decision not to penalise the Force for a seemingly illegal steal right under their own posts.
Both Matfield and Fourie du Preez must get their relationship with the referees right. John Smit is in a constant bickering with the referees, the once clever Springbok Captain is querying too many decisions. Once you start doing that referees get fed up during game time and you lose that special respect or consideration from a referee. Rather let some go and do not argue about 50/50 calls.
Kick your penalties
The South Africans exuded early confidence when they shunned two kickable penalties in the first five minutes in an effort to score a try.
Morné Steyn is one of the Bulls’ most dangerous weapons. We must keep him “hot” and firing on all cylinders all the time. Do not make him wait for decisions from the Captain, he must get us on the score board, get us rolling. I get the feeling that he is not sure what is next as happened with the last kick of the game, everything was kicked to the corner at that stage and we needed one more try for the bonus point. He was making ready to go for the corner. Then Matfield instructed him to go for the posts. It was a successful kick this time but the whole idea is to keep him in the groove.
At the moment the Bulls strongest weapon is the rolling maul, the use thereof is very impressive.
Our line-outs was always a strength, we still use it correctly.
We have arguably the World’s best scrumhalf in Fourie du Preez but he is not playing at his best. If Du Preez could stop coaching the referee and play the ball faster and more accurately we would improve by another 15%.
Wynand Olivier is red hot but is becoming too predictable….. or is it the game plan?
What we need to do now is manage proper rest for our senior and star players.
Anyway, after all this talk we are still in a brilliant position right now. I cannot see this team imploding. Another win or two in the next games will bring our biggest enemy to the fore….. complacency.
Complacency
I feel we have two of the best people in our camp to deal with possible complacency, Heynecke Meyer and Frans Ludeke and with a captian like Victor Matfield it will continue to be “Hard to be humble” as a supporter. I will try my best.
Very good post superBul. We need to understand that playing that high impact does not mean we have to do everything frenetically. It is all about precision and focus, and being able to vary your play is paramount. To me the Bulls are the only team that have shown the type of flexibility to adapt to the situation on the field. Now I know that it would seem like that there is a total lack of humility in that statement, but truth be told, I believe the Bulls face their toughest challenge this coming weekend against the Blues.
Not only do they have a formidable pack and and an enterprizing backline, but they have the ability to play poorly one weekend and be redhot the next. So there is that factor of not knowing which Bluesteam will rock up for the match, which is why I made the statement about the flexibility.
The Blues have standout players like Toeava, Ranger, Rocococo and the likes in the backs and Kaino, Mealamu, Woodcock and Afoa in the forwards, and on top of that they have Luke McAllister and Anthony Tuituvaki becoming available. That will make` Ludek`e’s `task to prepare the team all that more difficult.
To top that all, there is the second game travelling wall that the team have to confront and play through this weekend. I ask myself whether that is not a bridge too far, but in all humility, I predict that if they do, they will become the first SA team to win all their overseas games, and stand a good chance to go through the competion unbeaten. I know that we are supposed to take it game by game, and that the Sharks, Crusaders, Lions and Stormers still loom large in their future when they return, but I think that returning unbeaten from that side will be such a boon that it will lift them to a new level, which will be very hard for any of the other teams to match.
The Bulls should only concentrate on their game against the Blues. They have never beaten the Blues in NZ, thus a tough job awaiting.
1
That is what i hated from Heynecke when he won the 2007 title. He said he achieved all. OK i know that was said after the disappointment of the Springbok job. But at least he learned a lesson there.
Victor on the other hand is a real accumulator of achievements. I like that attitude, keep pushing the bar higher and higher.
I once met a old farmer in my work and he said “Seun moenie vir die kraal muur mik nie, mik vir die maan, as jy die maan mis val jy dalk op die kraalmuur. Maar as jy vir die kraalmuur mik en jy mis val jy in die kak”
And i believe that Victor has his whole team to follow him. I know he says we only look at the next game. That might be true but there back in their mind they aim big. I know it , you know it.
Go Vic, and use the Coaches motivational speeches well. You have the best right there available.
Tell Steyn to come to Ruan for kicking lessons…. 😆
Blues gonna probably be the team to bring the Bulls winning streak to an end, if they can’t, then probably the Bulls are invincible…which I doubt.
Bulls really didn’t impress me against the Force, Force once again played like amateur rugby players. No imagination on attack, and like the Lions, only two or three super level players in their team, yet it was only after Morne scored his illegal try (ie. dbl movement) that the Bulls were able to gain ascendancy over the Force.
We’re seven weeks into the comp. and the Bulls have in their past two weeks showed to be visibly less impressive than weeks gone by. With the Bulls already having had their bye, I can’t see them keeping this up pace and am expecting the wheels to start coming off one by one in coming wheels.
There you go, use that in your walk to humility….if not, it might become a walk to humiliation. 😆
3. Spoken like a sage, superBul. Greatness does not just happen, you have to plan and work at it. And believe me falling face down in wet weekold kneedeep beeskak trampled after the big rains can be quite a bad experience. I know, I’ve been there and done it! Worst is, I had the t-shirt but I had to throw it away!
4. Hell, some okes never cease to amaze me. Two close wins at the deathknell and suddenly they become the judge, the jury and the hangman. All I can say is”Checks the scoreboard,” like Oom Boy Louw.
gemifdeBaard
So because my team is not doing as well as the Nulle, I’m not allowed to point out your shortcomings?
Even a Lions supporter can see where the Nulle are going wrong, and the decline they’ve hit over the past two weeks.
Typical Nul mentality, my team’s not doing as well as your’s, so by default I can’t see nor comment on where things have and could go wrong with your team.
Maar moeilik jong.
4
Fires i will take your warning serious, you must know how things can go haywire, think 2007 final and last year.
Maybe the Sharks tried it the other way around this year , play the losing games first and then play catchup at the end. You forgot one thing Referees like winners and they somehow believe the players know what they do. On the udder hand if losing is your habit they nail you for everything.(that one we had too)
😆 😆
Looking at the scoreboard will not help the Bulls. The scoreboard reflects the past. For the future they had to jump a hurdle which they failed to do in the past.
superNul,
You forgot about ’08 and ’09. Eish.
8
to add i think this Bulls team is not running in peak condition now. If i must rate them i would say just under 70% , so increase it with 5 every week we might hit peak performance by the time we play the Stormers. That will be wrong so i hope we have another sukkel game or 2, we want to be at our best in the semis. If we can achieve that it will be great.
Winning every game becomes a burden. We want a steady progress in every game , understand.
I must say although i felt uncomfortable with all the well wishes and support. FireStrauli you brought back the balance, i feel a lot better now, Thanks……just joking.
SuperNul,
Always a pleasure having a stab at the Nulle. 🙂
7. Vuur in die hooimied,
It’s not that you do it, but the overbearing way in which you elect to do it. No humility, now that just burns my arse like some extra hot Deben curry. But tell me why you are concerned about my team? You okes face quite a challenge this weekend after flying back here as well. Ask the Cheaters if you don’t believe me.
gemifdeBaard,
Yes I’m well aware of the Reds this weekend, and I’m certainly not putting money on the Sharks to win, picking them on SB will be a stretch.
Concerned might be bit of a strong word for my feelings towards the Nulle. I’m looking at their tour ahead, and looking at how they started vs. where they are now, and bearing in mind they’ve already had their bye……I think they’ll be burnt out when it matters.
Btw, Wasn’t my intention to be arrogant about it.
superBul 8. I agree, when those passes that are currently landing on the deck begin to stick, we will see the real Bulls playing to their potential. And as you say, preferably that should be somewhere around semi time. In the meantime, I’m just hoping for neutral referees, kind bounces, no injuries, retention of winning form and just a little bit of luck to carry us through until then.
Bulls just need to go for a win against the Blues,Chief and Reds. No need for the bonus point. I think with that of their back they will win. No pressure from the start to get the 4 tries, just concentrate on the win. Win by one makes not difference. Just get the win. 4 points = 4 more points on the log. No other team will catch the Bulls. Bulls have not lost a game yet. Just play it safe on tour. Once home try and pick up a bonus here and there.
Sunday papers says it all. “Bulls Still Enforcers”
Good luck Bulls. Still top of the log. 6 out of 6 that is impressive.
Blues are in for a hiding, I am sure of it
Stormers will smash the Force as they have been in Australia longer and had a bye, many of the other top dogs still need to play away from home
Saders face Stormers and Bulls away from home, that should be fun
18 – JL1 Howzit, Bulls will beat the Blues, don’t think it will be a big win. Bulls will play it safe and just take the win. Which they should do.
Stormers will beat Force, have not doubt about that. Far too good a team to lose to the Force. Your team well and rested and that is a good thing. When did they leave for Oz?
Anyhow good luck to Stormers.
I was really worried before Saturday, so we won this difficult game. I would have loved it if the Blues won their game too, that would have given the Blues the confidence to go all out, although they will still run with everything.
The Bulls must just score more than them, we showed we can outscore any team this year.
Vuur in die hooimied,
15. If that last statement of yours is sincere we are good. As for the Bulls, I reckon there is a very good chance that they are working to a plan, taking it opponent by opponent, doing what they believe it takes.
So maybe they underestimated some teams a little to start with and responded to the challenge a little too hectic in the first four games and crushed them. Then they take their bye and come back and again take their foot off a little too much. Only this time its the Hurricanes and they really have to dig deep for the win. And then over there against the Force again they did what they had to do to win.
But how do you know to begin with how much you have to do to win. You have to be on the field first to find out against every team. You can plan in advance and have a strategy for the entire season, game by game, but it all happens on the field. So I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
I believe one thing though- if they lose on Saterday it will not be because they didn’t give their everything and neither will it be cecause they have become bighead.
No, I reckon it’ll be because they got beaten by a team who was better prepared, physically and mentally, on the day, and they will have given everything, their very best in spite thereof. And more than that no supporter has the right to expect.
20 – Super, I think if Bulls just go for the win. If they not thinking about having to get 4 tries they will play with far less pressure. Just win all the games on tour that what counts. Well try and win as many as they can get. Once home try and concentrate on a bonus point. Bulls should pick up a bonus against the Lions. There are some tough games after that.
Bulls will get a home semi, I have not doubt about that.
Hallooooo daar!!!
Johan Fourie of is dit ‘n eggo?
SUPERBUL: Ek’s hier!
Puma: You made some okes angry on the other side! How are you?
JL1: Dis ek, Shaun Langenhoven!
Puma can never make anyone angry, he supports the Sharks hehehe
Net gou kom hallo se, moet gaan. Van more af is ek voltyds terug. Genoeg gehad van party ouens daai kant. Sal party mis.
Also looking at the Chiefs, Bulls should beat that team and maybe pick up a bonus there. I think the hardest game will be against the Blues this week. Still think Bulls are too good a team to lose it. Just must take every point on offer. Go for poles everytime and not corners. Make sure a win is on before doing that.
I missed the early part of the Sharks game dur to power failure in our area, watching that game over today. See we also went for corners too and not taking the 3 points. It could have cost us huge had Ruan not got that last penalty over.
GBS
Hoe het Shaun hier ingesluip?
Johan Fourie as dit regtig Shaun was dan het jy lankal al almal aan gevat oor alles en wat
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