There are a number of anomalies in the Super 14 this year, things that some might call ironic, and others just plain stupid. Teams aren’t behaving the way they are supposed to, the Reds think they are championship contenders, the Bulls think they can play running rugby, and the Lions think they are a rugby team.
However, while the Lions and the Reds will sort themselves out as the season progress, the Bulls need to catch a wake-up, because a weak Bulls side (as enjoyable as it might be), is just not on, as far as South African rugby goes.
For some reason or another, the Bulls approached the 2010 season, as if their previous efforts (which included 2 Super 14 trophies and a Currie Cup) weren’t good enough, or maybe they were tired of winning. I don’t know if it is the influence of Slaptjips Rossouw, maybe Frans Ludeke only now showing his true colours or maybe the fatigue monster rearing his ugly head, but whetever it is it needs to stop.
Bulls rugby is boring, usually you get more highlights in the Sharks teams’ hairdo’s than in a season of Bulls rugby. But if we and their supporters expect them to remain a dominant force in world rugby, we need to accept this. The natural game of the Bulls is basically a form of test rugby, where, against weaker teams they score multitudes of tries and points, and against stronger teams, they force them into submission, with tedious, forward dominated ground and pound, yet structured and disciplined play.
This might be grasping for straws, but it seems as if the Bulls have taken the criticism about their style of play to heart, and then tried to rectify the situation, by changing their way of play, and their approach to rugby in general.
Unfortunately, this will basically only work against teams who are low on confidence and/or skill, which the Bulls duly found out against the Blues and the Reds, both teams dominated them up front, and forced them to make errors, sound familiar at all? I thought so.
Heynecke Meyer, the main architect of the current Bulls team, invested in players and structures, which supports the classical Bulls style of play, and now, because some people aren’t happy with the old boring way, they are trying to have those same players, going against everything that is natural to them, changing what they are as players, and who the Bulls are as a team. Now, because it isn’t coming off, we have the audacity to AGAIN criticize them, for doing what all supporters wanted them to do.
Imagine the toll on the players, they weren’t the brightest to begin with, now they are expected to learn a new style of play, under new and stricter ELV’s and even worse, without any Bulls babes to cheer them on.
Don’t get me wrong, I hate the Bulls, not because they play boring rugby, not because they are Super 14 champions, and not because they have some of the worst supporters alive, no. I hate them because I am a WP / Stormer supporter, and it is the right thing to do, I was also one of the guys moaning about their boring play. However, this does not detract from the bigger picture, they remain fellow Springboks, and we must all be united against overseas opposition.
Even if we do not admit it, we need the Bulls to be strong, they are the foundation upon which the World Cup has been won, and they represent the stability required, for the quicksilver players, some from other teams, to be able to work their magic.
But then we need the Bulls to be BULLS and not the Daisies they were on Saturday, we need rugby that puts us to sleep, and even leaves the commentators thinking they are repeating themselves. In short, we need the Bulls, to stop the Bullshit, and bring the pain.
A typical Saint article. Brash,dont beat around the bush and to the point. You raise some really valid points here bud. Leave the fancy stuff to the Stormers,let the Bulls playing the boring grinding winning rugby that we are used to. But half the Bulls problem on Saturday was them kicking away there possession to the awesome Reds backline,it didnt make sense and was poor tactics,if the Stormers keep the ball in hand they will beat the Rubble Reds.
Van den Heever isn’t chasing up the kicks like Habana did, so most kicks look pointless, and if he actually does chase, he simply isn’t having any effect on the opposition catching the ball.
I think the Bulls need to get Akona Ndungane back into the picture, that guy chased everything, even Mametsa. Let Shadow help the Vodacom side.
I personally believe the kick and chase wont work with the new law interpretations.. If the Bulls bring back Akona,it will be a step backwards,he is slow and has no pace to beat the man on the outside,ask the Sharks with them having no pace out wide,hence no bonus points except against the Lions..
Winston, I think the main factor lacking in their game is pressure! Ndungane might be slow, but Mametsa isn’t, however, I feel their commitment is on another level than Shadow’s. Everyone is probably thinking I am Shadow-busting again, but I’m not, he is still scared, which is understandable, he is basically still a kid, but it isn’t working for the Bulls.
Shit article again because in your mind we play boring rugby. Wake up please we dont find it boring to score tries. We are the top try scoring team so far this year. I did not find your teams tries boring last year when Luke scored almost all his tries from your impressive maul.
Rugby is not always running in lose games, thats why there was a place for YOU too on the field.
Bulls were rampant in the first 5 games this season, that was a month ago. Yes sure they look off now, but there is no reason why we cant pick up again.
That same players will get a second breath, i hope it is by the finals time.
I’m just a shadow fan,I would always want a guy in my team that has raw speed,it wins you matches with a moment of brilliance.. You cant tell me that the only way the Bulls can win matches is with good chasing of up and unders,there is too much talent there for them to have such a one dimensional approach.. Why dont they starve teams of possession like they used to,I strongly believe the way to beat the Reds is to keep the ball away from them,it will frustrate them.
Saint you moan about JJ and then you do the same. You can write good articles , you dont need to hold out the red flag in front of all the Bull supporters to get attention.
Bulls rugby is boring, usually you get more highlights in the Sharks teams’ hairdo’s than in a season of Bulls rugby.
Starting your articles with boring in it almost put you in the class of skopskiets 49-0. Maar baie wat jy se is waar die Bulle moet hul act together kry, dit weet ons.
“No excuses, we had our chances.”
That was the reaction of Bulls coach Frans Ludeke following his side’s defeat to the Reds in Brisbane on Saturday.
“However, we were not patient enough.”
“We produced a huge defensive performance. I’m very proud of that, but it probably caught up with us in those final minutes. But we still kept on fighting to the end and a coach cannot ask for more.”
Ludeke, who travelled home from Sydney via Brisbane with the team on Sunday, believes player management will be important this week as they are in for a tough derby match against the Lions.
“We’ll have to give the guys a good chance to recover from the travel. The Lions won’t be easy opponents and we’ll have to be at our best,” he said.
Super
As I said in an earlier post, they scored a shitload of tries at the start, first 4 games, then suddenly nothing? Almost everyone outscored them from then on. Super, do what you always tell us WP guys to do, stop living in the past, let’s discuss the Bulls NOW!
Saint this season is now, what happened in the first games count for now too. There is no way any S14 team can play 15 Super 14 games without going into a dip. We are in a dip thats for sure. Whether it is too late to come out of it , time will tell.
Super
Hierdie artikel is pro-Bulls, ek se niks negatiefs oor hulle nie, wat ek juis probeer tuisbring is, ons moet ophou om hulle altyd k#k te hap oor hulle game. Ons is almal basies jaloers omdat hulle so baie gewen het.
Ek verstaan nie hoekom het hulle verander nie.
Super, I hope you get out of it very quickly, can’t stand thinking that the farking Aussies think they have one over on us, I hope the Blues sneak into fourth place, in place of an Aussie contender.
In both games the Bulls struggled in, Morne Steyn struggled.
Steyn with FDP and Spies is crucial to the Bulls setup and getting them on the front foot.
I will seriously consider starting JLP against the Lions, with Steyn as cover on the bench.
Go Bulllllllllllllllllllll !!
Fark Sainty, write us a Stormers Article on this weekend’s play… they MUST ALL be SAINTS and / or be ready to be knighted by now in your book… come on, take the plunge!
…but, let’s be honest, the Bulls were kakas on Saturday… they played right into the hands of the Reds, totally the wrong game plan….
12@ Morne – Yip, rest Morne for a game… good idea. Rest Fourie du Preez as well in the whole 2nd half of the Lions game if the Bulls have a good enough lead.
Overall I think that the Bulls will be happier and better at home…. but they must’nt underestimate the Lions…. they must bury them!!
gbs @ 13
no need to panic (yet) grootrooi
still a loooooooooooooong way to go!!
15@ Asbak – I don’t panic Asbak, never… I leave that to Stormers supporters when they just miss out on a semi, on a yearly basis…. hehehehe
GBS
Nothing could be further from the truth. I have some worries about Aplon leaving his station too much, and Moller’s scrumming isn’t that great.
Also, the ball isn’t spread to the wings enough, I understand the tighter approach, but geez they payed millions to get Habana, why not use him then, or at least try to.
Francois Louw is coming on in huge strides, he ball poaching ability, within the convines of the law applications, is getting to be perfect, one can hardly see the difference in his play.
You know my thoughts on Bekker and Burger.
Grant is still firing off one or two aimless kicks, I saw the Reds were excellent in ball retention, so I’d prefer us keeping ball in hand more, if we kick, follow up, and kick out. We are missing a number of 1st time tackles, as Wallabie rightly said. But our scrambling is top notch, all we need to do is keep the ball away from then, and run in Coopers channel, he is a suspect defender, and I think a big hit or two, might rob him of some confidence.
gbs @ 16
no,
we dont panic
we
know
theres always “next year”!! 😉
oh, just walk past a poster of “die son”
which said
“nothing can stop stormers now!”
..
😯 huh? wat de fok? 😆
2 loses by the Bulls and it is ARMAGEDDON (sp).
Has a team ever played without looseing a game or 2.
Well there’s no secret that the best thing about secrets is secretly telling someone your secret, thereby adding another secret to your secret collection of secrets, secretly
…
Spongebob
hugs @ 20
morning hugs
my thoughts exactly …. why all the doom?
yes, the bulls have managed to throw away quite an advantage,
but hey, theres still a looooong way to go before the play-offs.
#22
“my thoughts exactly …. why all the doom AND GLOOM?” (sigh)
Hi Ashley love Spogebob and Cow and Chicken 🙂
treehugger @ 24
well i have a 7 year old who watches spongebob etc etc etc ALL the time …. must say the child in me STILL loves watching the cartoons, hehehe
#25
sometimes we even fight over which cartoon to watch 😆
20 – Treehugs, Only the Crusaders have won all their S14 games.
Losing two games is no trainsmash and also Bulls picked up a losing bonus point. So no panic yet, Stormers too have lost two games.
The thing here is the Bulls and Stormers have tough games ahead. Derby games are the toughest and between that they both have to play the Saders.
Bulls – Lions, Sharks, Saders and Stormers.
Stormers – Reds, Saders, Sharks and Bulls.
Bulls should beat the Lions and with a bonus. The other 3 games will be tough.
Stormers all the rest of their games will be tough.
Blues – Sharks, Lions, Cheetahs and Force. They on 25 points. They will all those games with a bonus they will end on 45 points. That will get them into the semi.
Blues could make the semi so could the Reds.
These last 4 games for all the top 6 teams will be interesting.
Good S14 this year, not a sure leader and also no sure semi home games just yet.
Hope Sharks do their bit by beating the Blues this week. That would help out our top teams. Stormers and Bulls as that would make the Blues run to the semi a bit harder. They are a very good side the Blues. So hoping.
27 – Meaning in the past the Crusaders have won all their S14 games. The only team to do so.
Okay I am off. Need to do some work.
Back later.
Al die ‘hype’ van die naweek is verby, en nou kan ons dalk weer bietjie met die verstand begin dink.
Die vet tannie is nog nie op die verhoog nie, maar sy is wel oppad.
Ja, die Stormers se vertoning was baie indrukwekkend, maar vir my was hul oorwinning oor die Blues baie groter, omdat Blues baie sterker is as die Chiefs wat regtig swak is hierdie seisoen, ook as gevolg van al hul beserings.
Die log sê:
Saders
Bulle
Stormers
Reds,
maar oop HUIDIGE vorm sien ek die dinge so:
Stormers
Reds
Stormers
Bulle
En, as die log so eindig, as die Stormers en Reds hul goeie vorm behou, dan dink ek die grootste druk gaan nie op die Bulle of Saders wees nie, maar die Stormers en Reds. Dan is dit weer Stormers met ‘n semi, weer op tuisveld, weer teen die Bulle … met die angs om teen hulle grootste vyande in die lewe (vra vir Saint) dalk weer te verloor. Ek dink nie enige stormer ondersteuner sal dit weer wil beleef nie.
Maar, daar is nog vier belangrike rondtes oor, en veral nou, kan die prentjie so radikaal verander na elke naweek. As die Reds wel die Stormers wen (wat baie sleg gaan wees vir beide Stormers en Bulle se tuissemi aspirasies), en die Bulle en Saders wen met bonuspunte, dan is Stormers skielik 5 punte agter.
Reds speel baie goed, maar ek dink tog wel die Stormers se goeie verdediging, goeie wedstrydplan, en veral die feit dat hul topspelers op topvorm is (hoop nie te vroeg nie?) gaan die Stormers laat wen.
Wat die Bulle betref, ons speel ‘n Leeus span wat al so uitgehonger is vir ‘n wen, so dit gaan nie maklik wees nie. Bulle sal moet wen, maar goed en klinies wen, veral met die 3 baie moeilikes wat daarna wag.
Ons dink elke jaar die S14 kan nie spannender eindig nie, maar dit lyk of hierdie jaar se paar finale wedstryde soos toetste gaan wees.
Nou ja, soos die ou gesegde sê: “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going”.
Ons sal na 15 Mei weet wie die laaste 4 is wat nog staande is.
Sterkte Bulle, Stormers en Sharks !
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