Desperate times for Bulls

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - SEPTEMBER 20: Mbongeni Mbonambi of the Bulls during the Absa Currie Cup match between Vodacom Blue Bulls and Cell C Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on September 20, 2014 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images)

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - SEPTEMBER 20: Mbongeni Mbonambi of the Bulls during the Absa Currie Cup match between Vodacom Blue Bulls and Cell C Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on September 20, 2014 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images)

Published Sep 22, 2014

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The Blue Bulls face a difficult and uncertain future in this year’s Absa Currie Cup after their defeat at Loftus Versfeld to the Sharks at the weekend.

Had the Bulls managed to beat the Sharks, they would have elevated themselves into the top four and stood a chance of making the semi-finals.

But they didn’t win even though they dominated the play especially in the first half in Saturday’s 26-15 defeat.

What the defeat now means for the Bulls is that they are faced with a must-win scenario for all three of their remaining fixtures.

The reality though is that Frans Ludeke and his team will be preparing to win all three remaining games against the Free State Cheetahs, the Pumas and Griquas.

Two of those fixtures are away from home. The Bulls will this week travel to Bloemfontein to face the Cheetahs followed by another tricky trip to Nelspruit a week later to face the Pumas.

As matters stand on the Currie Cup log, the Bulls are lying in sixth place, five points behind the Cheetahs who will be desperate for a win to ensure that they make it into the top four.

Defeat in Bloemfontein would certainly end the Bulls Currie Cup campaign leaving them without any domestic silverware for the fifth consecutive season, with the Blue Bulls having last won the Currie Cup in 2009.

Even if the Bulls manage to walk away with a victory against the Cheetahs they will need to repeat the same feat against the Pumas in Nelspruit, a venue that the locals have not yet been defeated at this season.

The Pumas are also on the cusp of making the semi-finals of the Currie Cup as they currently occupy the fourth and last play-off berth and they will be playing to keep their status among the elite of the competition.

Ludeke, though, still believes that the season can be salvaged and that his team will continue to play the same rugby but hopefully execute better in their remaining games. “There are three games left, two away to the Cheetahs and the Pumas and the last one at home against Griquas. The main thing for us is the process that gets us there and the same one that got us out of the bad start we had to the competition. We had some good results and that’s what we’ll keep doing,” Ludeke said.

Bulls stand-in captain Jono Ross also said that his team will fight for their place in the play-offs but that they need to focus on first beating the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Friday evening.

“We have to focus on Friday night and not think too far ahead. We need to back our system and back what we are doing.

“We need to go out there this week and prepare well, back the process and anything can happen. It’s a big week for us and we are just focused on next weekend and that’s all,” said Ross.

The Bulls will this week have captain Deon Stegmann back from his one week suspension while Ludeke will likely call back former Springbok Akona Ndungane who was rested last weekend. - Pretoria News

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