Crusaders serve up roast Bulls in Pretoria
THE Bulls don’t normally eat off the floor but they had some of their rarest cuts handed to them on a silver platter by the rampant Crusaders yesterday.
The Bulls have suffered many indignities at home but being subjected to a record defeat with six Springboks in your team is unacceptable.
Such was the carnage, the NSPCA should have been called in to rescue Nollis Marais’s side from being mercilessly slaughtered in their own abattoir.
After this embarrassing showing, Marais must not only fear for his future but ask whether he has the right rugby matter between his ears to take this talented team forward. Blue Bulls company chief executive Barend van Graan and the board also need to take a long, hard look at themselves in terms of keeping Marais.
Senior players like Adriaan Strauss, Lood de Jager and Jacques Potgieter disappeared when they were needed and passengers like Nic de Jager and Pierre Schoeman were badly exposed.
Scott Robertson’s side didn’t have history on their side but like a remorseless Highveld storm, they swept through Sunnyside and snapped their nine-year losing streak. They did so with style, panache and a scary physicality the hosts simply couldn’t live with. It was a perfect 10/10 display to mark their unbroken 10-match winning streak.
The monstrosity of the half-time deficit forced a number of Bulls fans to make a hasty exit. Their money though was well spent on the five welltaken first-half tries that ended the game as a contest. The best of the lot was Tim Bateman’s 11th minute try where rapidly improving pivot Richie Mo’unga sliced through the ripe Bulls defence, hared downfield, chipped before precise phase play saw the inside-centre dot the ball under the stick.
However, a bad taste of things to come for the hosts was through Pete Samu’s eighth minute try when he wasn’t held in the tackle and sauntered over the line.
Missed tackles were served up quicker than fries at a McDonald’s drive-through as the Crusaders scored three easy tries through Scott Barrett, Jack Goodhue and Seta Tamanivalu.
The Bulls’ scrum was softer than the lamb served up in the media centre, giving the Crusaders a first-phase platform. That didn’t allow the Bulls to capitalise from the turnovers they gained from the Crusaders’ high-octane rugby.
Still, the visitors posted their half-century in the 50th minute after tries from David Havili, Mo’unga and Goodhue extinguished any hopes of a comeback. Jesse Kriel tried to salvage some pride with a 54th minute try but Andrew Makalio’s 64th minute reply reminded the hosts of their inferiority.
Mitchell Hunt ensured they would be the first side to put 60 points past the hosts with his 69th minute try and it could have been more if he and Mo’unga had their kicking boots on. At least they doubled their half-time score without raising much of a sweat.