Ken Borland

Bulls scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl has warned that their brilliant victory over the Sharks is worth nothing unless they build on it and maintain that momentum in their huge games coming up against the Stormers in Pretoria on Saturday and versus the Lions at Ellis Park the following weekend.

Top spot on the log is their’s at the moment, but the Bulls will need to keep winning to hold off the thus far unbeaten Free State Cheetahs and Stormers, who have won both their matches, because Jake White’s team then have a bye.

“As a team we took a lot of confidence from the Sharks game and that performance couldn’t have come at a better time. Before that we had been a bit stop-start, we didn’t have much flow in our first two games. Every game is important but now it’s really important that we build on that display and move forward, otherwise that win won’t help us.

“We have a couple of massive games coming up, but at least we were more clinical at the right times, there was better decision-making and we identified space better. Better decisions lead to better play, and this time we rounded off our chances. Coach Jake is very good at making sure that it is all about getting the team to win and we all understand our roles every week,” Van Zyl said.

While the Bulls were much more accurate with ball in hand, and also off the boot, their defence was also highly impressive against the Sharks as they conceded just one try.

“We’re very happy with our defence and the combination of scoring six tries and just conceding one is massive for us. The more consistent we are in our defence, the more opportunities we’ll have to win, so it’s something we continue to work on and against the Stormers we’ll come up against different players with different skill-sets. But we take a lot of confidence from the defensive effort against the Sharks.

“Joey Mongalo has been great for us as defence coach, he has great energy and clearly loves what he does, he’s passionate about defence and that rubs off on the team. We are eager to get better every week. The basics of our defensive system haven’t changed that much, but there’s a new energy,” Van Zyl said.

The Sharks have identified the Bulls’ ability to tie them down in the tight exchanges as the key factor in their heavy defeat at Loftus Versfeld last weekend, and they are confident those problems will be fixed in time for their meeting with a similarly physical pack when they play the Pumas in Nelspruit on Saturday.

“We’ve identified where we fell short and it’s all very fixable, the errors we made were very much controllables, even though the Bulls were very good. We started well, especially up front – we stopped their mauls, we hit them hard off the line, ball-and-all, and we scrummed well. But then we just lost our way and our momentum slipped. The same thing happened against the Lions.

“So we know we have to keep the same intensity for the full 80 minutes, it’s something we’re working very hard on and it will definitely change this weekend. We can look at the bye or Lockdown for stopping our momentum, but those sort of excuses don’t help us. We have to improve every week and build back to where we were in Super Rugby,” lock Ruben van Heerden said on Tuesday.

Captain Lukhanyo Am was on the same wave-length.

“It was very frustrating because they put us under a lot of pressure at the breakdowns and set-pieces, and then we struggled for momentum and continuity. They capitalised on our mistakes, they took a lot of energy from the set-pieces and it’s something we have to work very hard to shore up. It’s unfortunate that we’ve lost Thomas du Toit, who is very experienced and one of our leaders up front,” Am said.

While the Sharks were on the wrong side of a 41-14 hammering last weekend, the Pumas really took on the Stormers and were most unfortunate to lose 42-37 after they had the favourites very much on the back foot at 14-37 down.

“The Pumas should have beaten the Stormers, tactically they were outstanding and they identified many flaws in the opposition, but in the end they were unfortunate to let it slip in the last 15 minutes. History has proven that you can’t take these smaller unions lightly, they always show up and the Pumas and Griquas have beaten us on occasion. They clearly have good coaches and a good plan,” Van Heerden said.

Am was impressed by the Pumas’ balance between attack and defence but he said the Sharks will be desperate to bounce back and they are putting in the work to do so.

“Historically our matches against the Pumas have always been close, tough games and they look a pretty balanced side. They are solid on D[efence] and they have a lot of energy with ball-in-hand, they’ll be very confident and they like running the ball. But we’ve analysed the opportunities and threats they pose, and, coming from a bad loss, we will be geared up, ready and prepared.

“We have been losing momentum early in the season but we have consecutive games now and I think the continuity will be much better as we feed off each other’s energy. Our errors are maybe influenced by rustiness, but it’s the same personnel as in Super Rugby and we should click anytime soon,” Am said.

Technology has allowed players to be tracked in detail now throughout the 80 minutes of a rugby match and every individual contribution is measured and analysed. One man who would have featured in almost all categories for the Bulls in their weekend demolition of the Sharks was rookie loose forward Elrigh Louw.

Given that they won 41-14, the Bulls were understandably dominant in terms of the game statistics – they enjoyed 52% possession and 53% territory, they ran for 367 metres compared to 223, beat 20 defenders compared to just 13 by the Sharks, and made 14 clean breaks while the opposition could only make two. The Bulls also won twice as many turnovers, and completed 86 of their 99 tackles, with 73 of those being dominant hits. The Sharks made 79 tackles, 59 of them being dominant, and missed 20.

And the 21-year-old Louw contributed plenty of carries, made valuable metres, tackled ferociously and even had time to win turnovers and make a couple of offloads. He was also a lineout option in a dominant set-piece for the Bulls.

Snapped up from the Southern Kings last month after they went bust, Louw seems in many ways an old-fashioned forward who keeps things simple and he is learning plenty from playing alongside Springbok great Duane Vermeulen.

“When I was at high school at Transvalia in Vanderbijlpark, Duane was the player I looked up to, I used to follow his every step and I wanted to be like him as a player, so to be here at the Bulls with him is a dream come true. I just try and be a sponge and take in everything, and it’s a real privilege to be playing with Springboks like Duane and Marco van Staden.

“I think we connected well as a loose trio, we were stealing balls, being a nuisance on the ground and we were physical in defence, so I think we complemented each other well. I just keep my head down and keep on grinding, I try and focus on my game and not other stuff. It has been a big move from Port Elizabeth but I’m sure it’s the right thing for my career,” Louw said on Monday.

The Pretoria-born Louw has made just the sole start in Super Rugby Unlocked but impressed to such an extent that people are already saying he could be a youngster who enjoys a long and successful career at Loftus Versfeld. He has settled in extremely well and made a good impression on both his team-mates and coach Jake White speaks highly of his talent and direct style.

“I’ve fitted in comfortably, it feels like I’ve been here for years because all of the coaches and players work so well together. In the space of two days me and all my stuff went from Port Elizabeth to Pretoria but one of the big reasons for the move was to be closer to home. I’m enjoying playing for the Bulls unbelievably much.

“I’ve accepted the challenge that no matter who we are playing against, we have to win and that means winning the small battles in the game, even though I don’t focus on my opponents,” Louw said.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt said he felt his team was still in good health at halftime as they only trailed the Bulls 9-17 in their Super Rugby Unlocked match at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend, but the unrelenting physical bombardment of the home side eventually saw them subside to a 41-14 hammering.

The Sharks had actually had the better of the exchanges in the first half and they led until the 28^th minute when the Bulls scored the first of two quickfire tries before the break. Thereafter it was one-way traffic.

“There are no excuses, we started really well, but then we leaked two soft tries. But we still felt very much in the game at halftime, but the Bulls have a very good pack, big and physical, and they just wore us down in the second half. We had a dominant scrum until Thomas du Toit went off because of his calf, and we had a lot of go-forward in the first half.

“I like to think we also matched them in the loose in certain periods, but it was just our execution that let us down. The breakdown was going well when we had forward dominance in our carries, but I think the Bulls just outmuscled us a bit in the end and Marco van Staden is a great fetcher and not a Springbok for nothing. We were also not accurate enough in our kicking game,” Everitt said after the match.

Hooker Dylan Richardson was the outstanding player for the Sharks and scored a beauty of a try, after a lovely little dart by eighthman Sikhumbuzo Notshe, to keep the Sharks in the game at 14-24 down after 53 minutes. But the rest of the second half belonged to the Bulls as they scored three more tries. The lineouts were a particular area of concern for the Sharks as the Bulls stole a few balls against Richardson’s throw.

“Dylan’s general play was outstanding, he made lots of tackles and won three turnovers for us. It was a big step for him to move from openside flank in Super Rugby, but we feel hooker is a position he can excel in and his throwing is just a teething problem, that will get better with game time,” Everitt said.