D-Day for Bulls’ Marais
NOLLIS Marais’ future is expected to be announced in the coming days as the noose continues to tighten around the beleaguered Bulls coach’s neck.
Following the Bulls’ 51-14 trashing by a rampant Lions side at Ellis Park on Saturday night‚ Marais revealed that he has had a meeting with the board of the franchise but could not provide further details.
“To be honest with you‚ the board has been in talks with me this week (last week)‚” he said‚ hinting that a decision had already been made about his future.
“I know exactly what is happening but they will make an announcement as soon as possible. It is not like I am in the dark‚ I know exactly what is going on.”
Under Marais this season‚ the struggling Bulls have lost eight matches out of 11 starts and they became the first South African franchise to go down to the Sunwolves.
As if that were not enough‚ they also suffered a record 62-24 loss to the Crusaders home.
Bulls stand-in captain on Saturd Handro Liebenberg‚ added that the players also had a meeting with management last week as they prepared for the short trip to Johannesburg to face the Lions.
“We had a meeting last week where they informed us but that is out of the players’ control‚” said the 21-year old Liebenberg. “That is not an excuse because we did not pitch up against the Lions.”
Liebenberg admitted the thrashing will be a good learning experience for him and the rest of the youthful side.
“It is never easy but I will look back at this game and it will possibly make me a better captain down the line and I will learn from this experience,” Liebenberg added.
“Hanro is only 21-years-old and he is leading a Super Rugby franchise as captain‚” said Marais about his captain. “He went into the change room with the team down 39-14 at half-time and took control‚ he is going to be an excellent Springbok two weeks ago at and captain down the line and he has a bright future ahead of him. This experience will definitely help him.”
Looking back at the loss to their bitter rivals that has left them with only 15 points from 11 matches‚ Marais said they were punished for their mistakes.
“After 20 minutes we made mistakes and they punished us. Every time they got the ball they scored seven points which showed how good a side they are with the ball in hand.
“We had two guys making their debuts this week and there is a big age difference between the players and they have been together for a while. They play well for each other‚ they are well coached and they are an excellent team.
“If you want to be a complete Super Rugby franchise‚ mauls and scrums have to work and if you play on the back foot all the time you won’t get there. We have been inconsistent with set-pieces the whole season and that put us under pressure‚ inconsistency is killing us,” Marais lamented.