VIDEO: Bulls defence coach on barricading the tryline

VIDEO: Jean Tiedt cut his teeth as a coach in the Varsity Cup and is now honing his skills as the defence coach at the Bulls.

After three rounds of the Currie Cup the Bulls are second in the table and together with the Cheetahs have only conceded seven tries, the least in the competition.

Tiedt has already made an impact on the Bulls’ defensive structures.

They host Western Province at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

That is a testament to the hard work being put in by Tiedt together with head coach Phiwe Nomlomo, scrum coach Werner Kruger, and former Zimbabwean flyhalf Kennedy Tsimba.

Between 2005 and 2010 Tiedt wore the Leopards jersey 46 times at scrumhalf and fullback.

He attended Monument High and represented the Lions at the Craven Week in 2001 together with the former Springbok centre Jaque Fourie.

During his time as a coach for the Eagles, he helped them claim the crown in 2016 and it is said his commitment to helping players manage to barricade their try line is something to see.

In the 2023 Varsity Cup competition, the Eagles conceded the least number of tries by far and led the competition in a number of defensive stats.

The Eagles protected their try line with demented resolve, but the precision of their execution was also one of the hallmarks of their campaign.

The Bulls appointed Tiedt in 2023 and according to him, there are a lot of similarities between the Currie Cup and the student competition.

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“I spent ten years with the NWU so [I have] a lot of good memories and [had] a lot of growth.

“I always say if you coach in the Varsity Cup you get a lot of different situations, different styles of play, and different attacking coaches,” Tiedt told the media this week.

“So it’s a great platform to build yourself and to build a style and a way of defence.

“Varsity Cup is an attacking brand of rugby, everybody wants to score tries so I don’t think there is a massive difference in terms of the way it is being approached [in the Currie Cup].

“Rugby is rugby and for me, defence will win you the championship, it’s never going to change,” the coach claimed.