Bulls: Back to square one; Rugby 365

The Bulls will have to go back to the drawing board before they take on the Lions at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria next Saturday.

The Bulls are have managed a solitary losing bonus point from the opening rounds of Super Rugby, following a 9-15 loss to the Cheetahs in dire conditions in Bloemfontein on Friday.

Bulls captain and lock Flip van der Merwe was disappointed with his side's performance, admitting that the wet conditions hampered the visitors on the attack.

"This wasn't typical Bloemfontein weather," Van der Merwe said.

"But that's Super Rugby.

"If you aren't a hundred percent on song, you are going to lose the game.

"We aren't pleased with our game at all," Van der Merwe added.

"We made a lot of errors and we couldn't execute. That put us under a lot of pressure.

"They used the chances they had and converted them into penalties .That [the penalties] they converted into points. That is how you win Super Rugby."

The Bulls captain said a big turnaround was needed by his side in the build up to the Lions game next weekend.

"No one is going to do you any favours and let you win a game," he said.

"You still have to put in the hard yards and play your own game if you want to win," he added.

"That is what we need to do this week. We need to bounce back."

SAPA

 Just win

There are some key issues to be addressed here -  those include inter alia -

*   Finding a proper flyhalf - I think Handre Pollard will take over in that position;

*   Call up a wing that could play properly in place of Basson - maybe there is a hope that they would fall back to  the 18 year old Duhan van der Merwe - who in two years time will be the best wing in the world.

*   Forget about Victor Matfield - he is a hindrance in the tight five.

The Bulls must cry their eyes out for letting go of Marnitz Boshoff - they stuffed up badly in his case. 

Somehow I think the Lions are not going to make it this weekend.

By the way - the conditions were horrible - and that would have effected the cheetahs more than the Bulls.   The Cheetahs plays a more expansive game and the conditions did not allow for that at all.      

 Sun Tzu

You are talking crap you know.   10 is really the weak spot of the Bulls.  Whether you like it or not - their center situation is sound and since they do not have dimwit Steyn in at center - better than the one of the Sharks.   There problem is also Basson - another real dimwit - with speed this time.   Not having dimwits in a team strengthen to team considerably - so I believe they need to find a different flyh alf and a more alert wing.

 Sun Tzu

Dpf dpps

I was referring to the rest of his BS = when I wrote what I did. 

Sun, you need to catch a wake up......they have the best centre combo in the competition........and in Pollard they have a 10 with an allround game.

The obvious issue to date in the backs has been the selection of an indecisive Fouche at 10.......he has been awful. Doubt we will see him start again for some time to come.

The Bulls could do with some quality wings.......Ndunagne is past it and Basson lacks physicality.

They need to bring in the likes of Jessie Kriel and Ulrich Beyers. There is also the option of doing what the Stormers are doing and playing some of their young centres on the wing.......I'd rather see Dries Swanepoel or Rohan Janse v/Rensburg on the wing than Ndunagne for instance.

Up front they need to start with their bench props in Marcel v/d Merwe and Frik Kirtsen, they need to ditch this ridiculous idea of playing Matfield, they need to restore the impressive Willemse at lock who was pathetically discarded after the first game and they need to sort out the balance of their looseforwards.........the loss of Arno Botha has not helped

 Saffex

Did you notice in both the Sharks game and the Cheetahs game - that the moment Matfield came on - how much weaker the Bulls scrumming were.   They really went on the back foot after he subbed the lock.

he should not be near the team - he weakened then when he comes on.

By the way - when I looked at the scrumming after Adriaanse came on I noticed the following.   The first  scrum went backward because Franks was scrumming inwards - Franks should have been penalized.  The scrum was reformed and steady.   The next scrum no problem.  The third scrum went backwards and the Hurricanes were penalized for "walkabout".  What Mozart sai d was his standard crap.