Is this the season the Bulls will finally crack the United Rugby Championship code?
On the evidence of their last two matches, it looks like Jake White’s team are getting their building blocks in place to become genuine title contenders.
After the disappointing 19-26 defeat to Ulster in Belfast on October 29, it looked like it was going to be a familiar situation, where the Pretoria side battle to get any victories on their four-week tour of Europe.
It would have been easy for the Bulls to even surrender to Zebre in Parma – as the Sharks did in a meek display to go down 10-12 this past Friday.
But the 2022 finalists not only rolled up their sleeves, but played some enterprising rugby in a 54-29 triumph at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, and followed it up with a spirited 18-12 win over Cardiff in Wales last Friday.
The Bulls again started in fine fashion at Cardiff Arms Park as scrumhalf Embrose Papier finished off a breathtaking opening try – where Stedman Gans and David Kriel produced some classy touches to set up the five-pointer.
But the visitors’ character was truly tested when they almost let a 15-5 lead slip, as a Kriel yellow card played a role in the home side roaring back in the second half to make it 15-12, with about 25 minutes to go.
White, though, brought on some quality replacements, such as Johan Grobbelaar, co-captain Ruan Nortjé and Elrigh Louw on a six-two bench to absorb the pressure and close out the game – in addition to powerhouse tighthead prop Wilco Louw’s scrum penalties that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award – which saw the Bulls go to the top of the URC log on 15 points from four matches.
It bodes well for the rest of the competition, as well as the upcoming Champions Cup, as they will also be able to call on World Cup Springboks Willie le Roux, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Marco van Staden once they return home following this Friday’s clash against Edinburgh in Scotland (9.35pm SA time kick-off).
“I’m very proud. You see how tough it is to win away from home. I saw that Zebre beat the Sharks, and everybody thought Zebre are a team that you get points against and get out of Parma,” White said.
“So, I said it a couple of weeks ago: wherever a team has to travel, it is difficult, and the tour is not over yet as we’ve got a massive game against Edinburgh [this] week – with all their Scottish internationals.
“But at this point in time, we are obviously chuffed that we’ve won two in a row and have some
momentum going into the next round.
“Right up until the last line-out, we had a chance of losing the game. In sport, you need these moments that you put in your memory bank and the confidence that you get out of that. The next time you are in that situation, hopefully you will get the same result.
“It’s not just the win, but the massive way in which we stuck at it and kept them out at the end there – because the crowd was very vocal and they (Cardiff) were coming at us.
“What I am really happy about is that the guys are putting their hands up, and they are going to make it difficult for those Springboks just to come in and automatically play.
“I’m not for one minute saying I don’t want them, as it will be fantastic to have all those players, with all the energy that they are going to bring. But it’s nice to know that there’s a bit of depth.”
@AshfakMohamed