What happened to the mighty Bools?

For those that have been following the Currie Cup would notice that the bulls are sitting right at the bottom and the lions at the top of the table. Over the last 6 weeks I have been catching a few games here and there but one thing that has stood out to me is how poor the bulls have been. Yes, they have lost some players to the national team but those that remain should be good enough. One thing that I did notice was former bulls’ assistant coach Pote Human Griquas. These guys have been playing some fantastic rugby and I have really enjoyed watching them. One wonder what a big role Pote might have played at the bulls?

What is bit worrying for the bulle is that their Boks are not shaping too well. They are of course rebuilding but do not look like a major threat going into next year?

 The thing that really supprise me is that with all the talent that they bought in, they are still struggling to make any in roads and that a team like the Griquas completely anihilated them on Saturday. These guys should be at least in the top 4, especially with players such as Potgieter, Fouche, Venter, Stander, JJ, Sadie, Ndugane, Serfontein. Where as the team like the Griquas are full of no name players.

It is clear that these players don't have a clue how to play together and they seem to get worse every weekend. 

IMO is Frans Ludeke and Pine Pienaar busy destructing the Bulls rugby by keeping the game plan which was used during 2007 - 2010. The game have changed, give those young lads a different game plan and see what they can do. Just look at the Bulls u/21 team, they run with the ball.

@bok bevok ek stem ou maat

the real issue is that the players coming through the system does not warrent nor can play this old style of rugby. the game has changed and those who cant keep up will be left behind. i must admit the quality of rugby over the weekend for me was really high. just shows how team tactics and a mindset is so crucial to a winning team. die manne van kimberly always plays a attacking brand.

 I had the misfortune of going to Wembley to watch Saracens vs Leicester Tigers. I have never seen such a dull match in my life. It ended up 9 all with not a single line break or any creative play. Just rugby league style defence and crash ball runners. My in laws are huge tigers fans and have been for many years. After the game we went back to our house where I put on the recording of the Sharks vs WP game. Boy were they supprise to see the attacking brand of rugby being played in a water logged pitched, end to end stuff. 

The current rules encourage rugby to be attacking and to keep the ball alive and not allow it to go to deck.

What I also noticed is that teams have figured out how to compete at the break down by simply applying numbers to the break down and ruck over the tackled player. This means if you go wide to soon you will end up losing the ball. 

The bully beef brand rugby uses chrash ball runners who end up either getting isolated in the midfield and end up losing or coughing the ball up in contact. It simply doesn't work and I wish Meyer would see it.

kingcorn

To be fair - the Bulls forwards are just not remotely up to standard - in fact they are poor.

I think they may yet get a boost when the Springbok squad for the home leg of the series is announced.  They are getting back the priceless Greyling and the senseless Potgieter - also the much better Kruger is likely to be back.   Then the cherry on the top - they may also get Morn Steyn and Kirchner back.  However, the tragedy is that none of the players mentioned by me would improve that team.

There is something really seriously amiss in the Bulls set-up and a serious review is necessary.   They have excellent backline players - but their forwards is a disgrace.  

@ kingcorn spot on. i was as fortunate enough to speak with the likes of paddy odbrien and andre watson when they tested and piloted the new elvs here at stellenbosch. the IRB's directive and long term goal is to create more attacking rugby for them to boost the image and market the game more because ther are competing against soccer ext for ratings sponsers money ext. so even the IRB want teams to play more attacking rugby hence the rules changes. i still feel the breakdown area has to many rules and should be left for the teams to sort that area of the game out themselves. if a guys falls over ext then he sould rucked out of the way.

the english and still a major part of the old guard in SA rugby still thinks that style of play that you are talking about kingcorn is on some level a winning brand of rugby where the exact opposite is the truth. england produces by far the most players but they are so pigeon holed in old ways of playing that the english breed mindless donkey style players like potgieter and co. the game has evolved and moved on and the likes of wales ext are not the winning teams because they brand of rugby is build around the new rules ext. that is at the core of it. the free flowing teams attack minded teams are the ones winning more than ever before.

i must admit i did see some level of progession in the pattern of play by meyer but there is major work that needs to be done before we can correct it and be on level terms with the best in the world. if one looks at the CC's standard its been very high and just hope that type of rugby cant get played at international level. the stomers type of game plan was prove that the old ways of playing rugby are not winning ways. to day playing winning rugby is playing attacking skill full rugby. winning rugby is not playing defense only kicking donkey rugby.

 My initial thoughts first was whether Meyers raid of bulls coaching staff was the main reason why the bulls are struggling so much but then you just have to look at the boks and notice that they are also struggling. I for one thinks that the quality of bok players are keeping them in touch with NZ and Aus but that we should have beaten both these teams. 

Meyer has a history of implementing a draconian style or rugby and doesn't leave much room for change. This is evident that players that are xposed to his coaching for long periods of time struggle to brake free and subsequently struggle to fit into any other teams. Players such as Maku, Burton Francis and Habana really struggled away from the Bulls. Habana had a nightmare trying to fit into the stormers plans.

My gut feeling is that Meyer brainwashes his players into his mould and once in that mould it is very hard to play in any other style. That is probably why he has chosen to use so many bulls players even though there are many other talented players to choose from. 

I just hope that Meyer changes his mindset or SA rugby might suffer long term damage.

when he was at the tigers that was pretty much the same case kingcorn so your comment is spot one. he is very one track minded and does nto change his ways of thinking process which at the international level is a fatal method of thinking. due to the changing factors in international rugby one will get caught out quickly.

our quality of players keeps us in touch spot on again but its generally that we are allways punching above our weight in terms of trying to compete with the wallie and AB's. its good for 60 min of the game but due the the ongoing wave after wave of attack we get pinned or lose contentration somewhere. the only time that we evovled to a level of play that is dynamic and unpredictable was in the carel du plessies/mallet era and the jake white eddie jones era.

the rest of assements are pretty much spot on in my view. meyer is one of those coaches that tend to over coach the players instead of allowing players to think for themselves and develop into more better players. that is where the biggest flaw lies