What happened to the Bulls?

There are a couple of things that changed the team around 100%.  Those were -
*    getting rid of a dud coach;*    changing the team and making sure they got a performing and clever captain; and*    getting rid of a dud attacking coach.
Incredible performance by this young team.  They still need to strengthen their scrumming and they need a stronger 5 - but I think there can be no doubt that a team is being developed that will be handful for any opposing team.  This is a young team with massive potential for further development.
The Stormers on the other hand needs a total different development scenario.  You cannot play strong backline rugby with what they have at present.   There backline is really not up to standard and without De Allende they really have no answer to a team like the Bulls.       

They have a great 5 in RG Snyman, add Jason Jenkins at 4......Marcel at 3, Strauss at 2 and Nyakane at 1 and thats an impressive tightfive.
Jacques du Plessis is a big loss

 ... once the Bulls started to spin the ball wide they were away laughing...simple as that...reminded me of the Brumbies game where Tomane scored a hattrick down the same wing as Ulengo...Leyed let in four tries that day...

What Sky channel was it on Saffex? I looked but did not think they were showing it.

 Leyds is not a CC players backside - or rather he is - useless as they come.  Jones will have a massive problem with that backline reconstruction  -  and a full reconstruction programme is needed.
Dave
Add Arno Botha at 8 and the Bulls will have a lot of answers against any opposition.     

 Just goes to prove that the young guns have what it takes to win.
Speed, ability and class as opposed to the old guard.
Out with the old men and in with the young guns.
Agreed that du Plessis is a major loss to SA rugby.
Now all we have to wait for is for the old twat from USA to add his insults on this blog.

 Shark it was not on Sky sadly nor was the Lions v Sharks game....bloody Sky 

 Dave
The Bulls have been held back for years now.  This was their first win over the WP since 2012.   The major damage in-between was done by Ludeke as their coach and Matfield as their attack coach.   The moment they were out of the way it was a completely different scenario in their performance.  
They played as a team and it was clear what a positive impact Labuschagne as captain had on the team as a whole.   You can see from their body language that they are smiling and happy, enjoying what they were doing.  The days of sulking players going through the motions are not in evidence at all.  
The worst thing that happened to the Bulls was to have Ludeke as coach and Matfield as attacking coach.  The latter in fact undermined the team spirit and it came out in a recent newspaper report quoted on this site.  The era of the petty-dictatorship in the squad is gone and players are allowed to use their natural talent to the full.   Serfontein would thrive in that team in future,   
One can only hope that they select a suitable coach in future and not go back to the bad old days of the past 4 years.   

 Willemse also will be misssed.I have however to point two important considerations. Firstly, and this was completely missed by my good friend brycy, scoring tries against leyds who was in fact not on the field hardly counts as being totally convincing. Secondly oaks can we just wait a little to see how these young guns go in top company.Its all heady stuff for the oaks but take it slowly. Some oaks are getting carried away and are ignoring context. The correct approach at this moment is - promising but lots still to prove.
Beeno the wise providing context once again!

 Yeah there is no doubt Ludeke has been poor for the Bulls.....another Meyer clone.....conservative as they come. The Bulls like WP have the makings of damn good sides if correctly selected and coached.
WP needs to sort it's backs out. Move on from wee de Jongh at 13....they need to play Kobus v/Wyk at 13 to partner de Allende at 12.
Kolbe is not a 15 move him to wing and secure the services of Senatla on the other wing.
Play Taute at 15....they need to get Goosen at 10

 Dave
I think after the Cheetahs debacle the previous week I made a prediction on Superbru that the Bulls will beat WP by 15 points.   Very near the mark = that one last penalty o[set my apple-cart.      

I think that WP is still thin in the backline - they really only have a very thin layer of players in all positions and only Vodacom Cup level players in some   Lets look at their various positions in the backline:-
 Full Backs  
Kolbe has been very disappointing in the CC games thus far this year - so he is not the answer.  I think he should move to the wing - maybe will be of  more  use there.  That leaves them with only Taute as an option at full back.  The back-up may have to come from the Under 21 team and Grant Herman us and the even younger EW Viljoen to fall back on.   Viljoen is one of their best future prospects and  may in fact end up as their full back.     
Wings 
This is a mess - Leyds is a disaster on defense and Senatla also have defense deficiencies.   I agree with you move Kolbe to the wing,   However, I think that Eddie Jones (if appointed) will not be happy with that combination.  - he is likely to go for better defenders against the physically stronger players they will come up against in the Super 18.
I think that the players they will in fact move to the wings are Grant Herman us and Liolin Zas - with Huw Jones and Johnny Kotze as back-up players.
Centers 
Even a bigger mess than on the wing.   De Jongh at 13 is not the answer - he was disastrously poor against the Cheetahs.   Looking at Super Rugby next year, the situation is critical.  Only De Allende stands out as a real center and the other center that should be brought in is Kobus van Wyk at 13.    
From there they have a very limited choice - I would say that the back-up would probably be Daniel du Plessis or Huw Jones, but they need another reasonable and physical center.
Flyhalf
This is an even bigger mess than the one at center or on the wing.   There was at one stage negotiations with Racing Metro about his potential release from their contract of Goosen, but as far as I can understand it RM is not prepared to let him go.  He would be the best option available.  
The only real back-up player they have is Jean-Luc du Plessis, but he is still very young.  If they cannot get Goosen, they will be forced to go for Du Plessis - Coleman is a bad joke at flyhalf.
Maybe they should try and get Van der Walt of the Lions released from his contract, but I do not think the Lions will release him.  However, there seems to eb some negotiations with the Lions going on - but the player the Stormers should go for is in fact Van der Walt - not Boshoff. 
Scrummies  
From what I have seen of Vermaak - they should pay his NH cub a bonus to take him back.   He was a very poor contract mistake.  
 

AJ
The "twat from the USA" will not respond to any item like this, because -
*   he is too fixed on the out-dated game plan of Ludeke - remember according to him 90% of the  functions of a flyhalf is to kick balls away - mostly with inaccurate and aimless results;
*   it is embarrassing to see the disastrous results of Matfield's role as attack coach of the Bulls and the divisive role of both Spies and Matfield on the team spirit and the players; and
*   he has an obsessive attack of the age mania again.- with comment after comment about some successes of older participants in sport.        

 Correct Mike.
See what the young Bulls can do when you get the old farts out of the front office as well as off the field.
Now the Stormers and the Sharks must follow the Bulls example and clean house.
Watched the Sharks-Lions game and was amazed to see the low standard of play by the Sharks......
But sitting up on the stands was John Smit and a few other really fat ex-Boks who obviously are living it up instead of contracting class players who can give the supporters top class winning rugby...which by the way the supporters are paying for plus the agony of watching losing old over the hill players.
Time for a change and the Bulls have got it right by changing from the top down.
Any rugby official that hires Victor Matfield as an attack coach should be hung on the cross bar by his b...s.