Champions Canes add more misery to lifeless Bulls
at Loftus Versfeld THE wind of change has swept through these parts in recent times but its effect is yet to be felt.
Not that the defending champion Hurricanes delivered on the Category Four warning some had issued. Their performance was in large parts disjointed but they were still streets ahead in the ball handling and space identification department to separate themselves decisively from the blundering Bulls.
The Bulls this week announced that John Mitchell from July will oversee the coaching structures, marking quite a departure from what Loftus had been used to. They will not just have an English-speaking coach, but an uitlander nogal.
His coaching doctrine is going to require some adjustment here.
If this match was supposed to mark a new chapter, yesterday’s performance was very much a rough draft.
The Bulls committed far too many basic errors and their intensity only sporadically troubled the New Zealanders.
It was, though, a match that started with some promise for the Bulls. They hit the rucks with fervour and they no longer handled the ball as if it was a pumpkin. They fleetingly looked like they had been rid of a great burden, before debilitating mistakes crept in.
Old habits die hard and it was the Bulls’ lack of application in defence that helped the Hurricanes grab the initiative on the scoreboard, even if the hosts held the whip hand in possession and territory.
The theme was to continue for the rest of the match as the Bulls huffed and puffed inside Canes territory only to be blown away when the tourists got their hands on the ball.
Inside the first quarter the Hurricanes scored tries through fullback Jordie Barrett and centre Ngani Laumape and in both instances Tian Schoeman could have been more assertive with his man marking.
Schoeman, irony would have it, made his most telling contribution in the collision while in possession in the move that brought down the curtain on All Blacks flank Ardie Savea’s match.
As Savea tried to get to his feet it was clear from his wobbly attempts that he needed to be put through the concussion protocol.
It made little impact to the Canes. They continued to tackle like demons and turned over Bulls’ ball in areas and moments of promise.
Although they scored 24 points in the first half, their momentum was stunted in the first half by referee Egon Seconds who punished them mercilessly.
The defending champions never hit their straps here yesterday but they will be mightily relieved they bagged another bonus-point win. In mitigation, they started the match sans their sharpest attacking threat in Beauden Barrett. OFFLOADING: Beauden Barrett of the Hurricanes during the Super Rugby match against Vodacom Bulls
If this match was supposed to mark new chapter, then the performance was very much a rough draft
They also don’t need to be alerted that they are up against a team who, through their pluck and commitment to attack, have won many admirers this season.
Both teams’ struggle histories through promotion to and relegation from Super Rugby have also spiced up their clashes over the last few years.
“We’ve got the respect for the Kings, the way they performed. They pushed every team and they won some matches,” said Lions coach Johan Ackermann after he selected a near full strength team for this assignment.
“We must look at ourselves as well, we still have positions to fight for. We are at home and we want to keep momentum,” he said, knowing that his side trailed the unbeaten Crusaders by just three log points before this weekend. FOCUSED: Lions coach Johan Ackermann selected a near full-strength team for the clash against the Kings today
As things stand, the Lions can still top the standings but they will need to win their remaining matches against the Kings and the Sunwolves at home, and the Sharks in Durban. The Crusaders have a tougher run-in with matches against the Highlanders at home and a potentially treacherous trip to the Hurricanes.
Ackermann assembled his team in the knowledge that the South African conference takes a break from the competition next week.
Although the Kings will be without captain Lionel Cronje, who has a jaw fracture, Ackermann expects them to be fired up.
“There definitely is no lack of motivation from their side. It is almost similar to where we were a few years ago. Nobody gives them a chance. Look at (Chris) Cloete, (Lionel) Cronje and (Makazole) Mapimpi who suddenly became South Africa A players and now they are looked at by other franchises.”
Equally, Lions captain Warren Whiteley, who was installed as Springbok captain this week for the series against France, was under no illusions about the challenge the Kings will present today. “They play as a unit and for each other. That makes them dangerous.”
It starts at training and then your attitude in the game on the weekend. I believe everyone’s attitude is right
If there was any suggestion that the Lions, who have nine players in Allister Coetzee’s 31man Bok squad to play France, have their minds on that assignment, coach and captain offered sobering rebuttals.
“We spoke about this in the week, the need to stay focused. If your mind is not here, you are going to get your hardest shot. The players know what we are expecting,” said coach Ackermann.
“It is business as usual for me,” reassured Whiteley. “This is where it started for us. We have huge respect for that. It starts at training and then your attitude in the game on the weekend. I believe everyone’s attitude is right.
“I’m not going to let anyone down this weekend. I am not going to allow that,” Whiteley offered as an ominous parting shot. BLUES wing Rieko Ioane made his case for All Blacks selection clear on Friday when his team held the Chiefs 16-16 in Auckland.
He scored the opening try, having been put into space by Sonny Bill Williams, who is also hoping for a place in the test series against the British and Irish Lions next month.
The result was not much help for either team, however. The Blues have no chance of reaching the playoffs and the Chiefs have slipped further behind the Crusaders and Hurricanes on the New Zealand log.
In a match which started in fine weather and ended in pouring rain, the Blues had a chance to break the stalemate with a penalty eight minutes from full time. But flyhalf Piers Francis, who has been called into the England squad for their tour of Argentina, missed what should have been a routine kick.
The Chiefs had banked on a win to remain Super Rugby play-off contenders while the Blues needed maximum points to keep alive.
The Blues have not beaten a New Zealand side since they defeated the Highlanders last year and they have not won against the Chiefs in 12 matches dating back to 2011.
With several players on both sides in contention for All Black selection, it was 20-year-old Ioane who upped his hand the highest — AFP