Pote: The Bulls know there are still things they can work on

THE BULLS may have returned to the top of the South African conference, but coach Pote Human knows there is still plenty of fine-tuning to be done.

The Bulls misfired at times, but managed to keep the wheels from falling off en route to a 32-17 win over the Reds at Loftus on Saturday.

It is easier to fix mistakes sitting at the top of a congested conference than doing it at the bottom.

“We left a few points out there, a few tries but it is maybe a good thing because we know there are still things we can work on,” Human said following his team’s bonus-point victory on Saturday. “But it is an awesome win especially after last week’s huge disappointment.”

Home defeats to the Chiefs, and the Jaguares did instil a sense of desperation at Loftus.

The remedy, Human said, would be bonus-point victories as they approach the toughest phase of their campaign.

The Bulls will have a bit of a break to put their feet up and plot their way forward. They face a perilous road ahead in their pursuit of reaching the playoffs with home matches against the pace-setting Crusaders and Waratahs before they go on tour.

They will next go up against the Stormers in Cape Town after their bye weekend for what is expected to be another brutal north-south derby.

The Bulls have been on song in the SA derbies, finding it difficult to display the same intensity and intent against the overseas teams.

Saturday evening’s win over the Reds was their first over an overseas franchise in this year’s competition.

The victory would have given Human some comfort as they prepare to take on stronger opposition in SA and abroad.

“I really thought last week after 70 minutes we would have one, but the way the guys played was just very pleasing and didn’t matter who the opposition was,” Human said. “I thought we played good rugby today.”

Reds coach Brad Thorn rued the missed opportunities the Bulls offered his team on a platter through unforced errors.

“The Bulls just looked after the ball a bit better than we did and created some good opportunities,” Thorn said.

“They did have some errors as well, and they would probably be disappointed with some stuff as well ,which is frustrating as a visiting team.”