Ken Borland

Both Bulls coach Frans Ludeke and captain Pierre Spies acknowledged that even though they beat the Western Force 25-24 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, it was a bad performance by the home side.

Ludeke highlighted the poor work-rate of a Bulls team that thoroughly dominated the scrums and was playing against 13 men after two yellow cards in quick succession at a crucial stage of the second half, while Spies called it a lack of intensity.

“Our work-rate wasn’t up to standard tonight, it was a stop-start game with a lot of penalties and perhaps from their side some negative play which worked for them. They conceded a lot of penalties and we could not make enough of it because we made too many mistakes ourselves,” Ludeke said after the game.

“We played against a desperate side and that is what happens, they play for 80 minutes and we could never build a score. They dominated the gain-line a few times in the game and that led to penalties and to tries. You obviously need your work-rate to be spot on, that is the thing about SuperRugby.”

Spies pointed out that a thunderstorm before the start of play accounted for an increase in handling errors, but added that this was still no excuse for their display.

“The ball was a bit wet tonight, so that makes the attack a bit difficult and also the speed of the ball at the ruck had an influence on our attack. But first we look at ourselves and the way we played tonight wasn’t good enough.

“The intensity was not there the whole game, we let them into the game with some soft moments and we actually did well to win it in the end. We were trying to build a good lead so that we can get the game going and every time they got back,” Spies said.

Force coach Michael Foley prizes positive rugby and he was pleased with the fact his side scored three tries.

“To come here and score three tries and certainly in the fashion the players got them in, to resist the pressure at different times of the game.

“You are always disappointed when you don’t get the result but if you can play rugby like that week in and week out then you are going to get some good results,” Foley said.

Victor Matfield moving to the bench and two new starting props were the only changes to the Bulls team coach Frans Ludeke announced on Thursday for their SuperRugby match against the Western Force at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Matfield will be replaced in the number five jersey by Grant Hattingh, while Springboks Marcel van der Merwe and Dean Greyling will be the starting props as Ludeke gives his 37-year-old stalwart something of a break and provides a starting opportunity for the two front-rowers who have had their year disrupted by injury.

“Obviously you can’t rest players and have them on the bench, but it’s more about managing the playing time. We set ourselves some principles, and one of them is not to make too many changes week-for-week,” he explained, “You want to keep the continuity and the rhythm, and that is vital for players.

“But we want to back the squad system as well and we’ve got great props and we back them. Trevor Nyakane and other players will be rotated in the next few weeks,” Ludeke said.

Hattingh may not have Matfield’s experience or genius in running the lineout, but he is tremendously mobile, has a high work-rate and has performed well in the lineout before.

“He was with Victor in the lineout last year and he is one of our anchors. In the end he played almost all the games either at eight or five and in the Currie Cup he was our leading jumper. It’s great to give him his first start this week, he has continually added a lot of energy off the bench this season,” Ludeke said.

The Bulls may not have lost to an Australian side at Loftus since 2007, but it was the Force who beat them then and the side from Perth have traditionally run the Pretoria team close.

Ludeke may also be relying on his bench providing a late boost because there is tremendous quality there in the form of Matfield, the fit-again loose forward Arno Botha and Nyakane.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke is so relieved that his team notched their first win of the Vodacom SuperRugby campaign last weekend that he has named the same starting XV for Saturday’s match against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

“We finally found the momentum we were looking for in the opening rounds of the competition against the Sharks and managed four tries, so we will need that confidence and rhythm we picked up when we play the Cheetahs,” Ludeke said on Thursday when he announced the team at Loftus Versfeld.

There is one change on the bench, with scrumhalf Piet van Zyl returning to the squad and replacing wing Travis Ismaiel. That means wing Francois Hougaard, who replaced the impressive Rudi Paige at halfback when he developed cramp against the Sharks last weekend, will not be the reserve scrumhalf even though many people believe it’s his best position.

The Bulls were also struck by many injuries in the first couple of weeks of the competition, but Ludeke is glad the Sharks’ victory did not produce any fresh ailments.

These are happy times for the Cheetahs and Ludeke warned that they will be “full of self-belief” at the weekend.

“I am happy to name the same team because the Cheetahs are one of the early front runners and will be full of self-belief. This is not only a vote of confidence, but we are also blessed with no injuries, something that hampered our consistency in the first couple of weeks,” the coach said.

Bulls team: 15-Jesse Kriel, 14-Bjorn Basson, 13-JJ Engelbrecht, 12-Jan Serfontein, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Handrè Pollard, 9-Rudy Paige, 8-Pierre Spies, 7-Lappies Labuschagne, 6-Deon Stegmann, 5-Victor Matfield, 4-Jacques du Plessis, 3-Trevor Nyakane, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Mornè Mellet. Replacements – 16-Callie Visagie, 17-Dean Greyling, 18-Marcel van der Merwe, 19-Grant Hattingh, 20-Hanro Liebenberg, 21-Tian Schoeman, 22-Piet van Zyl, 23-Jurgen Visser.

Just four months ago, the Blue Bulls Rugby Union was in a sorry state with Frans Ludeke about to be axed as coach, the SuperRugby side ending a miserable campaign with a humiliating loss at home to the Cheetahs, and the players, management and administrators all pulling in different directions.

The atmosphere at Loftus Versfeld was so bad and so stuck in its ways that I called them dinosaurs in this same column.

But since then, there has been rapid evolution and their fortunes have soared with new coach Nollis Marais taking them to a home semi-final in the Currie Cup, playing a fresh, invigorating brand of rugby that has brought the crowds back to Loftus Versfeld, and giving much of the young talent that was being unused and growing frustrated the chance to shine.

Marais has already received his reward in that he has been confirmed as the SuperRugby coach and he has been given a four-year contract, an incredible sign of faith from a Bulls board that has never been known for its willingness to take a chance.

But CEO Barend van Graan said the sight of families returning in droves to Loftus Versfeld made it an easy decision.

“We can see how the tide has turned the last few weeks and attendances have been double what they were compared to last year, nearly the same as for SuperRugby games. Not many applicants reached the standards we require and it was not a difficult decision, Nollis had the inside track because of what has happened in the Currie Cup.

“Our expectations are high, if not I’m sure we would have only given him a one or two-year contract. But we have a lot of confidence in Nollis and he now has the opportunity to build for the next four years. He’s already brought through a number of young, excellent players,” Van Graan said.

While Marais has thoroughly updated the Bulls’ style of play, credit must also go to Van Graan and his board for realising that they need to adapt as well. The CEO said the BBRU would need to adjust their strategies.

“There are decreasing White numbers in our area, the whole demographic of Pretoria is changing dramatically. There are eight PSL teams in Gauteng, plus one each in North-West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, so this is a soccer region. The average crowd for a PSL game is 5000.

“Twenty-eight percent of the Blue Bulls’ support comes from the Eastern Cape and 98% of that is Black, most of whom don’t have pay-TV at home. So we have to revise our strategy and penetrate new markets. In the last five years, we have seen a decline of more than 70% on the number of tickets sold at the ground. People just buy tickets on the internet now and they’re no longer buying season tickets,” Van Graan pointed out.

The Bulls have earned a reputation for being aggressive recruiters of junior players, but their showcase teams have also suffered due to a revolving door of players leaving or losing their contracts.

“Since 2011, we have lost 57 players, a lot of them to the Euro, Yen and British Pound. But things are cyclical in a team sport, you have to let guys go, but perhaps we released too many players, in hindsight. The last six or seven SA U21 captains have come from here, but our Currie Cup side will be even younger next year so we need to be smart in our recruiting. We need to fast-track talent, but only five percent of the schools in our region play rugby,” Van Graan said.

Marais has given the Bulls a new lease of life on the field and credit should also be given to Van Graan and the board for identifying the new direction the BBRU has to take. If they continue along this path, there’s no reason why the Bulls shouldn’t in time become the most powerful union in the country again.