Saturday, March 2, 2024 will already have been highlighted on the Bulls’ calendar.
That is when they face the Stormers again, this time at Loftus Versfeld, and it is a game in which the Pretoria side simply have to come up with a plan that’s good enough to beat the Capetonians.
Jake White stated, following last Saturday’s 20-26 defeat at the Cape Town Stadium, the Bulls’ seventh consecutive United Rugby Championship loss to John Dobson’s team, that most coaches would have accepted the scenario they find themselves in currently.
They are still the leading South African team on the URC log with 26 points, following five wins out of eight matches, and they are on six points after two Champions Cup encounters, where they beat Saracens and got a losing bonus-point against Lyon in France.
Of course, the Stormers can leapfrog the Bulls in the URC SA Shield by beating the Sharks with a bonus point at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (7pm kick-off) – although the Bulls would then have a match in hand.
So, White is well within his rights to feel satisfied with what his team have achieved this season. They have played some exciting rugby, where they have grown their kicking game in particular to complement their ball-in-hand attack.
They have shored up their defence too, where they are definitely more organised, and perhaps the most crucial part of their development has been the depth in the squad.
White has mentioned that he didn’t back the fringe players in the squad enough previously, but has rectified that by giving enough game time to the likes of Devon Williams, Sebastian de Klerk, Mornay Smith and Janko Swanepoel, while also enjoying the fruit that big-name signings such as Willie le Roux, Akker van der Merwe and Wilco Louw have borne.
In addition, David Kriel and Stedman Gans have become the first-choice centre combination with a series of fine displays in the current campaign, while scrumhalf Embrose Papier has been in outstanding nick and should be in the Springbok squad discussion again.
New young No 8 Cameron Hanekom has been a revelation at the back of the scrum, while Springbok speedsters Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie have been full of running.
So, overall, it seems everything is in order at the Bulls. But the most concerning aspect of the defeat to the Stormers was a lack of urgency and intensity from the visitors.
“I don’t know if we do it purposely, but we come here (Cape Town) and we don’t look (like) the same team,” White said.
“The understanding of what you give off (presence, body language) has an impact on the team that plays against you.
“We can get up for Saracens and the Sharks, with nine Springboks, but we have to ensure we are good enough, smart enough and aware enough of the fact of all the things we do in the game.”
White noted that the Stormers are hard to beat in the Mother City, having only lost to Munster (twice) at home since the December 2021 defeat to the Lions.
And led by an inspirational figure in Deon Fourie, they have regained that fighting spirit in defence in their last two games: the 21-20 Champions Cup win over La Rochelle and now against the Bulls.
But White acknowledged that his team once again wasted a number of attacking opportunities in the Stormers half, with one of the most notable being replacement hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels’ overthrow at a five-metre lineout.
They also overplayed their tap-kick tactic as well last weekend when a scrum would have been the wiser option in the Stormers 22.
Flyhalf Johan Goosen continues to blow hot and cold as well. Having been in top form in recent games, the former Bok utility back wasn’t able to create the same kind of space for his dangerous backline – with Le Roux perhaps too often in the first-receiver position as well – while he missed two admittedly difficult conversions, before slotting one from the touchline to reduce the gap to 17-19.
The fact that the March clash against the Stormers is at Loftus Versfeld doesn’t automatically mean the Bulls will win, as the Cape side have won there twice in their seven-game winning streak over the Gauteng outfit.
White and his team will have a few weeks off now over the festive period, with their next match a Champions Cup tie against Bristol in England on January 13, and then Bordeaux will come to Loftus a week later, followed by the Lions.
Another two-week breather follows before the Bulls take on the Lions at Ellis Park on February 17, before yet another fortnight off ahead of the Stormers game.
So, that is more than enough time for White and the rest of the Bulls coaches to iron out those kinks in the attack, as they can’t afford to miss out on any points in the quest to end the seven-match losing streak against the Stormers.
IOL Sport