The Blue Bulls, in their various guises, have been a very successful union for many years. They are the only South African side to ever win the Southern Hemisphere’s premier rugby tournament, winning the Super 14 competition three times. In South Africa’s domestic competition, they have raised the Currie Cup on 23 occasions.
It is with this long history of success in mind that we have to question exactly what is going on currently at Loftus Versveld. The light blue flag that flutters above fortress Loftus has become a little tattered and torn over the last few years. It is not quite a half mast yet, but the franchise will have to act soon in order to prevent the flag from being lowered.
Just a few years ago, this proud franchise just needed to wave that light blue jersey at a player they wanted to contract as the the deal clincher. This is only true to a limited extent now, with young players seeing the other franchises as viable options. Much has been made of the massive player drain over the last three years, with European sides climbing into the Bulls playing stocks by flashing the Euro or the Pound. In this period, the have lost in excess of forty players to Europe. That would be a hammer blow to any franchise, but with the financial resources they have at their disposal (relative to the other South African teams) they should be able to work their way through the loss of players which they have experienced.
The recruitment policy of age group players has become centered around quantity above quality and there is a constant stream of young players leaving the Bulls as soon as they are off contract to franchises such as the Lions, Cheetahs, Pumas and Griquas. The Bulls have generally dominated age group tournaments in the past, but in the recent past have often had to accept second place to Western Province (Stormers franchise) and more recently the Lions.
Moving on from the youngsters to their senior squad and the news is not much better. Handre Pollard, Jessie Kriel and Burger Odendaal are bright young stars for the future and should form the kernel of a fantastic backline, but what surrounds them might see the reconsidering their future prospects at the Bulls – any player wants to be part of a tournament winning team, something the Bulls have been shy of recently. A player such as JJ Engelbrecht (who owns a Springbok blazer) has simply not delivered on his early promise and the same can be said of Jurgen Visser – a fantastic age group player who is not delivering at senior level. At scrumhalf, Piet van Zyl has become pedestrian and does not offer much in terms of attaching from the base or being able to get fast ball out to Pollard. Rudi Paige doesn’t offer much more as a replacement either and yet the frenetic if inconsistent Francois Hougaard finds himself playing as an impact left wing.
Moving on to the pack and this is where we find the main reason for the Bulls current woes. A team cannot hope to have an effective scrum in any tournament without a strong tighthead and a powerful number 4 lock to balance the scrum. The Bulls were embarrassed against the Stormers in round 1 by being pushed backwards on their own ball. The Bulls lost promising youngster Paul Willemse to Grenoble in the off season and regular number 4, Flip van der Merwe, is on the long term injury list. Inexplicably, the Bulls started Jaques du Plessis and Victor Matfield against the Hurricanes… two number 5 locks in the starting lineup. At tighthead, they do not have the the traditional South African slab of beef that refuses to take a step backwards. The return of Marcel van der Merwe from injury might improve their stakes here, but I remain to be convinced. Speaking of locks, Victor Matfield had been accused of focusing solely on his strength, the lineout, which is simply not true. After round 2, he has made the 2nd highest number of tackles for the Bulls after Lappies Labuschagne. The fact that he is being forced to tackle that much is already indicative of a major problem for the Bulls.
The Bulls also face a problem at ruck time as they continually refuse to embrace the use of a modern openside flank. Deon Stegmann is used at openside flank but is regarded more as a linking type loose forward, the same as other sides use a number 8. The worry here is that the Bulls have been really poor at defending their own ball at ruck time and regularly concede turnover ball, as well as at attacking opponent’s ball in the same phase. They simply do not turn over ball enough to be able to be effective at counter attacking. A further oddity at ruck time is the continued reliance on Pierre Spies. He simply does not get involved a ruck time. He leads no measure in Super Rugby and I cannot define the reason why he remains in the picture for the Bulls. He is not the same player he was prior to the 2007 Rugby World Cup – a very long time ago in terms of a rugby career.
Simply put, the Bulls have invested in far too many players who would not be assured of starting spots in other franchises. I believe players should be held personally responsible for their performances and we should not necessarily be calling for the coach’s head because a team is not doing well. In this instance though, my opinion is different and feel that head coach Frans Ludeke has a lot to answer for. He is responsible for building his squad and the holes in squad come down to him. The sterile channel one bash up the middle style of play is also not the players’ choice. The game plan is vested in the coach. Seriously, if you are going to bash it up the middle, you need a proper open side flank to secure possession?
After reading this article, you might assume I am anti-Bulls, but nothing could be further than the truth. All South African teams are my passion, but the current direction of this Bulls team has got me worried.
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