Bulls’ stumble at Loftus highlighted a worrying national trend
OPINION: Game management remains a concern for all four South African franchises as the United Rugby Championship enters a crucial phase.
It’s a challenging time for South African rugby, and for all four franchises.
The never-ending season – which runs from July to June – continues to take a mental and physical toll on the players.
Teams have been hit by injuries in recent months, and the situation has been exacerbated – for some more than others – by the mandatory Springbok resting protocols.
On the other hand, the February-March window is the only time of the year when the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers play exclusively in South Africa.
It’s the only time of the season when you won’t hear a complaint about intercontinental travel or the relentlessness of the schedule.
The teams play three to four derbies over seven weeks, with some enjoying a bye or two between matches.
With this in mind, it’s been hard to understand why some of the better sides have been so inconsistent, and why the game management has been so poor.
The Bulls remain the best-placed South Africa side at this stage, given their position in the URC standings (third) and the fact that they will play the next two matches in this window at Loftus Versfeld.
If the Bulls go on to bank wins against the Lions and Stormers in the coming weeks, Jake White may declare himself satisfied that his plan for these derbies has yielded sufficient results as well as log points.
In that scenario, the Bulls will remain on track for a home playoff, and possibly even a home semifinal and Final.
That said, the recent 19-29 loss to the Sharks in Pretoria put their most recent performances in worrying perspective.
A week earlier, the Bulls raced to an early lead in Cape Town, before allowing the Stormers back into the contest.
Ben-Jason Dixon scored a try at the death to all but clinch the game before Clayton Blommetjies missed the conversion.
The Bulls came through that experience with five log points but had every reason to make a statement in the next clash against the Sharks.
They were expected to win by a comfortable margin, given that they were back at home and that the Sharks were without a host of World Cup-winning Boks, such as Ox Nché, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Jaden Hendrikse, André Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi and Aphelele Fassi.
The Bulls’ chances of victory were further boosted when veteran tighthead Trevor Nyakane sustained a serious foot injury in the first half. Wilco Louw led the charge, as the Bulls destroyed the Sharks scrum.
The visitors leaked penalties and eventually copped three yellow cards shortly after the break.
Somehow, they managed to rally for a win, and a bonus-point try.
The Bulls finished the game without a single log point. While they maintain a slender lead over the Sharks in the URC standings, they have reason to be concerned in the wake of two Jekyll and Hyde showings.
If Blommetjies had slotted that conversion in Cape Town, the Bulls would be zero from two in this derby phase of the campaign.
In that scenario, they would be forced to acknowledge that they are drifting in and out of big matches and that their defence is conceding too many soft tries.
To reiterate, they are missing a host of key players, and we saw in the recent Champions Cup campaign what a difference Cameron Hanekom can make at the breakdown and around the park.
Unfortunately, that tournament also highlighted the side’s collective vulnerabilities.
This is a crucial phase of the season for the Bulls and for many of the other teams.
It won’t get any easier for the Bulls when they resume their fixtures against northern hemisphere sides at the end of March, and then start to compete across the URC and the Challenge Cup tournaments thereafter.
If they want to go deep in the URC, they have to bank as many points as they can now, during the derbies.
They have to address their issues now and treat the coming games against the Lions and Stormers as must-win games – even if the log suggests that they still have some breathing room.
They are very pleased with the result! 🦈https://t.co/EycWSLNOyz
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) February 16, 2025
While the Stormers have been gutted by injuries, they have found fresh ways to frustrate and disappoint in recent weeks.
The Blommetjies’ miss was unforgivable, as was the attacking performance against the Lions at Ellis Park.
Poor decision-making and worse handling cost the Stormers several clear-cut opportunities to score tries and points.
While they’ve lost a number of Boks to injuries, there are still a few internationals in the side who should be holding themselves and the team to a higher standard.
The Stormers have lost four games in a row, and their season now hangs by a thread. They’ve already been eliminated from the Champions Cup – and haven’t qualified for the Challenge Cup.
They face a fight to qualify for the URC playoffs, and as coach John Dobson has suggested, that next game against the Bulls at Loftus on March 1 may be something of a decider.
The Lions and Sharks may be on a high following their respective wins in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
After the video sessions this week, however, they will know that an improvement is needed in the next fixture.
Last month, the Lions dominated the Bulls in the first half of the Jukskei derby, before falling to pieces in the second half.
They were equally impressive at the start of the recent outing against the Stormers but allowed the Cape side back into the contest after the break – while adding a mere six points to their own tally in the second stanza.
While the Lions hung on to secure the win, the Stormers did enough to earn a late shot at goal and claim a losing bonus point.
As a result, the Stormers finished the round ahead of the Lions in the standings, with a single point separating the two teams.
That single point may well determine which of these teams qualify for the final eight at the end of the league phase, and progress to the next edition of the Champions Cup.
The Sharks were a joy to watch at Loftus, running from deep to exploit the space in the wider channels.
Lukhanyo Am is getting back to his best, while the young contingent of Ethan Hooker, Jurenzo Julius and Tino Mavesere are making the most of their opportunities in the injury-enforced absence of more established players.
The Sharks will take the points, but they will know there is much to rectify.
Their scrum was completely humbled, while their pack battled to combat the Bulls at the maul.
On another day, their poor discipline, and as many as three yellow cards, would have cost them the contest.
Given the recent performances and results, there should be no talk of consolidation in the coming weeks.
If the Bulls lose to the Lions this week – and rack up yet another loss at home – many will start to question their status as title contenders.
The Sharks have an extra week to tweak their game plan and hope for the return of several key players before playing the Lions home and away on consecutive weekends.
If the Bulls continue to stumble and if the Sharks harness their newfound momentum, a new South African frontrunner may emerge by the end of this derby phase.
*Photo credit: Bulls
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