An interesting weekend of super rugby, even though it probably caused premature cardiac arrest in a number of Northern households. Even though the Bulls did little to inspire any of their supporters on the night, it got me thinking, what went wrong? Where is this supposed Total Rugby, that the Bulls are allegedly the only disciples of?
For four weeks the Bulls had everyone, Aussie, New Zealander and South African alike in awe of their new brand of rugby. For sure it was very impressive, with one game in hand, the Bulls scored an amazing 199 points in four games, that’s averaging almost 50 a game, amazing! They scored 24 tries in this time and Pretoria was in rapture!
Everyone, even Hugh Bladen dubbed this type of game, Total Rugby, even though the Bulls in the same time let 15 tries slip, and 139 points. To put this into context, you have to look down to position 12, being the Highlanders, to find a team who let past more points. They had one of the highest missed tackle rates as well, surpassed only by the hapless Lions, and the not so forceful Force. But, as long as they keep putting 50 on the board, no-one in Pretoria would have any of it!
Then came the Canes, and, for lack of better words, shut them the hell up! They held their defensive lines, and even though their defense was far from brutal, it was mostly effective. Suddenly things weren’t going as usual, and immortals like Morne Steyn and Fourie du Preez once again showed signs of the 2009 year-end tour, Steyn missed a sitter of a kick, and he failed to put his line away, Du Preez was fumbling with the ball on a few occasions, and got caught in possession more than once.
After 40 minutes, the Bulls were outplayed in every single phase of the game, and looked very beatable, their Total Rugby approach in tatters, and a few of the Loftus crowd slinking off home already. Then came the 2nd halve, in which we saw the return of Bulls Rugby for the first time this season. 9 minutes into the 3rd quarter, I knew the Bulls would wrap up the game, and I didn’t even bother to watch the rest, because I could see whatever I wanted from the highlights of the past 5 years, stingy, hard, uncompromising Blue Bull Rugby!
Did Total Rugby fail? Is it but an illusion?
NO! It never failed, because no-one as of yet, has played Total Rugby. The idea behind Total Rugby isn’t to wait for the other team to set a score and then beating it! Total Rugby is exactly as the name suggests, a type of game that has the perfect balance of all the game’s facets. A good scrum and line-out base, attacking, free-scoring backs, an excellent tactician at 10 , a 15-man defensive system that refuses to back an inch, and a well-disciplined team that can adapt to any situation, without first getting a bloody nose.
Alistair Coetzee said, no attacking team has even won a major trophy, and evidence points to the fact that he is most definitely right. Most pundits would refer to the Bulls’ demolishing of the Chiefs in the 2009 Super 14 final, but in the 12 games preceding the final, we saw classic Bulls rugby, rugby, that we can without fear of contradiction, call winning rugby. Because let’s be honest, it’s not about entertainment, it’s about lifting the trophy!
Where does South African teams stand in terms of achieving total rugby?
The Sharks’ forwards are suspicious, constantly losing out in line-outs, rucks and mauls, you cannot currently judge them on their flyhalve, because they had more bad fortune in the pre-season than most, they also do not have an influential inside centre, and as a result, their outside backs never get into the game, they are still far from the finished product, but need to sort out whatever is going on behind closed doors at the Shark tank.
The Lions seem to have attack well in hand, even if their handling leaves much to be desired, they seem to be able to breach most defenses once or twice in a game, which, under normal circumstances should be enough, but their defense is non-existent, so a try scored, is two scored against them. Carlos Spencer is not really living up to the hype, and switching Walter Venter inside Doppies le Grange might not be the worst move ever. But recent evidence suggests, they are a few seasons away from being contenders.
The Cheetahs have a much more pragmatic approach, soften with the forwards, and hit hard with the backs. They have the goods, but they short the confidence. Naas Olivier is damp tissue paper when under pressure, and potentially their greatest weakness. Bosman at 10, with Ebersohn, a natural playmaker, at 12 and Uys at 13 might be a combination worth looking into.
The Stormers performed well in most aspects of the game, defensively they are tight as a drum, and on attack, they have the player capable of breaching anything put before them. Their scrums and line-outs are adequate and efficient, however, Grant at 10, is not a great tactician, and cannot dominate with the boot. His kicking however is not hapless, and he is a great distributor. With Willem de Waal, this weekend, sending the backline away, more often than not, and Grant maybe returning with a 12 on his back, the Stormers are rapidly developing into a team, and quite a useful one at that.
The Bulls’ scrums are solid and their line-outs beyond contestation. They have a flyhalve with a boot and a halve, and with the exception of Derick Kuhn, have been quite well disciplined thusfar. The Bulls can attack, and the Bulls can defend, if they can do both in the same match, is still to be seen. That they are a great team, is undeniable.
With SA’s biggest hopes setting off for Australasia this week, let’s hope, both can attain their Total Rugby status while there, and return in the positions they currently occupy on the log. Also, the time is here for the Cheetahs to impress away from home, let’s hope the Blikore do us proud.
Yeah ye Saint good article ? Dont know who claimed that we are playing total rugby. Maybe Hugh Bladden, but what i hear from Victor Matfield all the time is that they are trying to work towards it.
The heart attacks not coming from the well informed Rugby-Talk supporters here, we were well aware of the dangers of the Hurricanes, we were just amazed that they were so impotent on this tour. I knew we would see a tough do or die attitude by them on Friday. So by the way can nobody in the unions see that the Bulls dont like Friday night games?
The Stormers is nearer to that total rugby game.
At the moment either their timing is perfect or the refs are not watching the Stormers tackles. Watch how this story unfolds in the next few games. NOT RELEASING will be heard soon. That brings up another great discussion, refs blowing the not release to soon or too late. I will say more about this later. But just think of the inconsistency there.
This brings up my 5 000th post here, now i am officially classified as a addictive Blogger.
super…
Happy happy !!!
Asylum calling. 😆
Manne wat a lekker loafdag
Wou nog in tuin werk, maar die werk so gesit en bekyk todat die gevoel verdwyn het. Nou voel ek sommer beter.
Good luck to both Stormers and Bulls on their away tour. Both play same teams on tour. Both should beat The Force. Will be tougher against the Chiefs and Blues in NZ. Stormers and Bulls have been playing good rugby and both have very good teams. So they both could do it. Reds are a unknown at this stage. Reds are a team on the up and the are being really well coached this year too.
Travel well Bulls and Stormers. Hoping both teams come back still sitting number 1 and 2 on the log.
Just go do it.
#1
I understand where you are coming from, but remember we had Steve Walsh and Chris Pollock officiating already. The Stormers are working hard off the field on their play at the breakdown, we are not winning that much turnovers, but, only dedicating one or two guys to the breakdown, means we have 13 defenders available. In other words, I think our defense actually wins the turnover, because we are forcing guys to do desperate things to make breaks, which isn’t coming off.
Cudos to Meyer Bosman for that chip kick though, that was magic!
3 – Morning Super, Just relax and do nothing…..hahaha. That what day offs are for. 😉
Lovely and cool today too. Enjoy the cooler weather. Has been really hot this March un in the highveld.
Wou ook vandag paar dinge doen…maar toe besluit die twee manne wat my moes help hulle sal dinge interessant maak…
Nou is een in die tronk,en een in die lykshuis… 🙁
un = up
7 – Blouste 😯 That means just take the day off like you should be doing.
Congrats to your Bulls. They almost gave me heart failure…….hahaha. Far too close but it could have been a bit easier for Bulls had they taken the 3 points from the penalties each time. Eventually sanity prevailed and they took the last penalty and went ahead. Thank goodness. A win is a win and that all that counts.
#7
Party mense sal ook enigiets doen om nie te werk nie…
Morning all. Good article. Agree with the Naas Olivier point,he is average at best and I think Meyer Bosman at 10 would be a great idea,he is strong on defence and the backline would have more play makers in it..
#1
Superbul, one other thing. Never assume that all supporters share the same open mindedness that we have here at RT. You should cast an eye over at Voldy, the Bulls are invincible over there according to a certain Mr. Tacitus etc.
5 – Saint, Do you know who the match officials will be for the Stormers and Bulls game on tour?
Buddy, that makes a huge, huge difference. Still though both teams should win most of their away games who ever is handling their games. Well hope. Sharks got some raw deals especially against the Tahs. Think that ref is dropped now but he will still be assistant.
Puma,that ref from the Waratahs game needs a real beat down 🙂
11 – Morning Winston. Naas missed some kicks too. I also like Bosman. Though Cheetahs are now hit with plenty injuries before they tour and especially before they play Reds. Who are playing some good rugby.
12
Saint i would love to have Tacitus over here, it could balance us out here. We need a Bull like that here. But He talks a lot of sense, dont just look at his name read the information first. 😀
I found this GEM on Sport24 Blogs, had to share it here 😀
Now if everyone could bear with me just for a moment. You might find it useful to print out this post and get someone to read it to you. Find yourself a quiet retreat with in your confines, close your eyes, and just slowly feel yourself drifting ever so slightly into total relaxation. And now that you are in a state of euphoric bliss, picture the worlds best center, Jaque Fourie, running out and playing for the Lions. You may feel free to laugh, more so out of total embarrassment to yourself after questioning such a inspiring move. Oh, if the wondrous Jaque Fourie had stayed with those pathetic losers the Lions, we may be staring at a player who not only would have lost his form, but would more than likely be lost to Souh African rugby after taking a physical and psychological beating week in and week out.
So thank you to Stormers rugby for saving South African rugby and giving the worlds best centre not only an opportunity, but a new home!
And on the subject of Stormers rugby, all the talk about the final game against those horrible baby blues for a place in the semi’s, well, I have to agree. Although, I think that the Stormers will be fighting for the right to hosting a home semi, while the baby blues may just be holding on ever so slightly just to make a play-off spot. Oh how things change in a year. I feel this may just be the decade of the Stormers! How those horrible baby blues supporters must be trembling in their nose rings and under those horns and sweating in that body paint…
Yeah,with all these injuries to key players I think they are going to really struggle overseas but I hope I’m wrong 🙂
Very sad to see Mapoe injured,think he might be the next big thing..
Who was the author of that article Super?
14 – Winston, yip not sure why he was a assistant even for the Brumbies game. Also we got another bad call when they said Kanko was offside, he was never offside. Brumbies got a penalty there and that was that. It cost us the game. Also the last penalty given to the Chiefs was never a penalty to them!! They came in from a offside position. Should actually have been a penalty given to the Sharks. That last penalty given to Chiefs also won the game for them. 😯 So we have had plenty go against us. It is gone those games and so is our S14 cause of bad refs. Then we should never ever have got into the postion that we needed to win by a few points. Sharks need to go out there and start getting more tries so what ever the ref does should not bother us.
So we have had some really bad calls that actually lost us the game. So hoping from here on we get some good match officials. Also our two top teams that travel. Just hope both teams get the better refs there too.
20
Someone who calls himself Spectre
19 – Winston, I felt really sorry to see Mapoe go off injured. He is a superb player and needed this season really to get himself well into Super Rugby. Now not so sure how long he will be off. Think 4 weeks. That is a long time. Pity. They now with out 3 of their top players.
Cheetahs team doctor Ian Morris said that Mapoe went for a scan on Sunday.
“The cartilage in Lionel’s right shoulder has been torn and he will be out of action for about four months,” he said.
Thats hectic,so he is out for quite a while then,will only be back for Currie Cup..
17 – Super, Tried to find it but could not see it. Well reading your post there. Had to have a little laugh…haha.
24 – Super, That is a damn shame. I now really feel bad for Mapoe. That is a long, long time to be out just when he was starting to play some exciting rugby.
Cheetahs not going to be the same without the 3 injured players and that is a shame. They were playing some good rugby against the Canes then Brussow got injured. Now the other two.
Good article, Saint.
As regards the Bulls vs Canes game, I believe the Bulls allowed the hoohah about their leaky defence the two or so weeks before the game to get to them and probably made the call to see whether they could jack up that aspect by going onto the paddock intent on focussing on defence from the word go, probably in quest of some reassurance that they can play that gameplan if they have to and obviously with reference to the Stormers’ success with it the previous weekend against the same opponents.
Now we all know that what happens then is that all the players go slightly onto their heels, creep up a bit flatter and tend to close up the distance between players in the backline, while the 9, 10 and 15 tend to kick more. Consequentially there is less space to attack into.
This is exactly what happened and before they knew it they were 12-0 down. So they reverted to the game they had played the previous 4 games and voila, in the last 10-15 minutes of the first half looked a lot better, but I think the final penalty at the end of the first half for Pakslae’s high tackle on Keats just brought a bit of uncertainty into the coaches and captain’s mind and when another penalty followed early in the second half, they decided to go conservative, play for territory and possession, try to force enough penalties to grab the lead and from there rely on the altitude to do its thing and allow them to protect that lead.
Which is exactly what they did. Now I hear the everyone say it is a good side that wins when they play badly. That might be true, but I don’t believe they played all that badly. I believe it cuts a bit deeper than that.
Now I’m not saying the Bulls are up there playing Total Rugby- not by any stretch of the imagination, but like Victor says, they are working towards it. Fact is, I believe the Canes defended and pressurized well. The Bulls came out before the game and intimated that they would adopt a similar approach as the Stormers to defence by committing less players to the rucks and tackle ball situations. So if I were the Canes coach I too would have focused on the breakdown and commit high intensity hits to it in numbers. This put the Bulls on the backfoot even further momentum-wise, plus I believe that the Bulls captain did not trust the ref to make consistent calls in similar situations and plays, which exacerbated the problem.
Couple to this the fact that when you try to play that fast attacking game that was their trademark in the first four games, you run the risk to spill the ball and have the opponents counter-attack against you, and given that the Canes are renowned as good counter-attackers, I believe Victor’s hand was forced slightly to revert to traditional grinding Bulls rugby by reverting to the maul as a means of keeping their hands on the ball and starving the Canes of possession and opportunity by limiting mistakes by the Bulls in the carry, and thus turnover ball.
I say cudos to the Bulls for being able to adapt their game to suit the challenge they faced, and to do it effectively to still beat a very good opponent.
Also, as we all know, any comparison between this match and the Stormers game is futile as they are two different games, different conditions, different dynamics and the Canes had made a number of tactical changes to their team, plus they were fighting with their backs against the wall, desperately wanting to secure at least one win on their tour.
I believe that these okes know where they are going and what they are capable of, and have the flexibility to adapt their game if needs be. They have studied each opponent and have a plan A, B and probably C for each match. Now that, to me, is the sign of a truly great team.
If they are not playing total rugby, then what are they playing? Half rugby half soccer? Half rugby and half touchies? Everyone is playing rugby as far as I know. The Bulls are playing the best rugby thus far because they can adapt their game and strategy if they need to. That’s what rugby is about for me. Playing the type of game that that gives you the best chance of success against the opposition, and taking their strength and weaknesses into account. Whatever kind of game that might be. That is what makes rugby. Play the game according to the rules and do what is necceceray to win the game, swinging the ball wide, frequent up and unders etc, whatever works on the day.
Total Smotal
Goeie genade no. 27 is ‘n mond vol !!!
😉
Hi there Puma
Thanks for the kind words…
The Bulls were’nt good at all, well maybe for certain periods…
All in all I think this was just what they needed ahead of their overseas tour…
And the Sharks won !!! I told you… 😉
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