PRETORIA – The Blue Bulls’ resurgence may be too late to salvage their Currie Cup campaign, but their fantastic win over the Golden Lions suggests there is still kick in what was considered a dead horse.
At times Bulls coach Pote Human questioned his charges’ character, but there is no doubting their commitment following their gutsy 31-26 victory at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Bulls’ character came to the fore after copping a red card and two yellows against a team that was unbeaten before Saturday’s clash.
The Pretoria-based side was outnumbered for an hour thanks to debutant Fred Eksteen earning a red card, before Andries Ferreira was shown yellow with 20 minutes to go. Dylan Sage copped a yellow after the hooter sounded, which ultimately proved inconsequential.
A motivated Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby side beat the Xerox Golden Lions 26-31 in Joburg. Tense final minutes, but solid defence gets the W. #LIOvVBB pic.twitter.com/h2VSK37H8r
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) August 10, 2019
Human praised his team for their composure following Eksteen’s departure and instilling some pride in the Bulls jersey.
“Hats off to the guys, the character they showed with 14 then 13 men was unbelievable,” Human said. “The red card shocked the guys for five minutes, the Lions came back, but after that, it didn’t look like we were playing with only 14 guys.”
Last week’s defeat to Griquas at home in Pretoria marked the team’s low point, banishing them to the bottom of the standings.
The victory lifted the Bulls from the bottom of the Currie Cup log and out of the promotion-relegation playoff zone.
The team will enjoy a bye this weekend ahead of their final clash of the season against the Sharks at Loftus.
The Bulls may not have any chance of reaching the semi-finals, but Human hopes they can give their supporters a victory that will linger ahead of next year’s Super Rugby campaign.
“We still have one game left, I asked the guys to enjoy this one, but we owe our supporters a good win at Loftus,” Human said. “The Sharks beat the (Free State) Cheetahs, so it is going to be an excellent game for us.
“The pressure is a bit off, but I think people can be proud to be Blue Bulls supporters tonight. The guys decided to play for each other, play as a team and play for the blue jersey because it is still an honour and a privilege to play for the Blue Bulls.”