Pretoria - Bulls coach Frans Ludeke might have already had the starting line-up for his team to face the Stormers in next month’s Super Rugby season opener at Loftus Versfeld, but he might be forced to rethink his team after the Bulls second stringers put up a good showing against the Cheetahs in their pre-season warm-up game in Polokwane on Saturday.
While many of the questions Ludeke had were emphatically answered by his youthful Bulls team which overcame the might of a near full-strength Cheetahs team 30-13, questions will be asked asked of those players who would have assumed their places are guaranteed in the starting line-up.
Saturday’s game at the Peter Mokaba Stadium may have lacked the intensity of a full-scale Super Rugby clash but there were enough glimpses of the potential within the Bulls squad for Ludeke to careful think over his decisions and a timely wake-up call to any team that may have thought the Bulls best days in the competition are over.
As early as it may be to start talking about Super Rugby contenders, the Bulls flexed the muscle of their greater squad and while inexperience at a higher level will certainly be their Achilles heel if rushed to play in this year’s campaign, there is enough promise to warrant a rethink in certain positions.
The outing in Polokwane was a worthy exercise as the Bulls managed to get much valuable mileage in their legs while also giving an opportunity for some of their new recruits to stake their claim in the team and also some of their previously crocked players to make a return to the field.
Poker-faced as ever, Ludeke struggled to crack a smile but did express his satisfaction at the manner in which his youngsters went about executing their duties while the likes of Springbok flank Arno Botha was a welcome sight on the rugby field after missing two seasons because of a two near career ending knee injuries.
Ludeke would have also been impressed with former Cheetahs flank Lappies Labuschagne’s performance while SA under-20 star Jesse Kriel was simply outstanding at fullback.
There were also good performances from loose forward-turned-lock Jacques du Plessis who is likely to fill the No 4 lock void left by the injured Flip van der Merwe while Marvin Orie did enough to prove that there will be life after the departure of Victor Matfield at No 5 lock.
Seasoned campaigner Bandise Maku is another player who impressed with a rare starting berth at hooker while Springbok scrumhalf Piet van Zyl showed glimpses of what made him an international player two seasons ago as he scored two of the Bulls tries on the day.
“It is nice to get an outcome like this, especially after the pre-season where we worked on a few areas and a lot of the things came together. There are no injuries and we had the legs to go for the full 80 minutes. We made some changes and there is a combination of things with youngsters coming through, players that were recruited slotted in nicely and some of the injured old heads. I can say that we are happy,” said Ludeke.
The Bulls face English Premiership side Saracens in London on Saturday in their second pre-season warm-up friendly.
Pretoria News