Blue Bulls run in 10 tries

– The Blue Bulls scored 10 tries as they claimed a resounding 64-36 bonus-point Currie Cup win over the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Friday night.

After three successive losses heading into this clash, it’s the perfect result for the Bulls, while it reignites their playoff hopes in the competition.

The Bulls were full of running early on, and scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl took a quick tap and darted over to score in the 10th minute.

With the home side missing far too many first-time tackles, the Bulls struck again when Burger Odendaal, while Cheetahs captain Chris Dry was then shown a yellow card after repeated team infringements soon after.

In his absence the Cheetahs outscored the Bulls 10-5. A flurry of scores before the final whistle ensured the Bulls came away with an emphatic result. – ANA

Bloemfontein

After the Springbok massacre in Albany, one of the photographers managed to capture a very awkward moment. Eben Etzebeth and Allister Coetzee are standing next to each other at the post-match presentation, where the coach is trying to shake his captain’s hand.

The giant lock actually wants none of it and very reluctantly sticks out his right hand. However, what the photo really depicts is two men who are on different frequencies.

We don’t know what was said exactly but we might have a fair idea.

Coetzee is trying to keep the mood sunny, complimenting his captain on his honest efforts and saying that a 57-0 loss isn’t the end of the world.

After all, the Springbok coach had many gasping in amazement afterwards when he somehow put a positive spin on a defensive performance that yielded 31 missed tackles.

Etzebeth, on the other hand, was livid. The defeat rankled, it was embarrassing to him.

The Springbok captain’s voice was actually a dissenting one because his camp is living in a bubble. Or at least that’s what the coaches are trying to create.

This past weekend, defence guru Brendan Venter tweeted “if winning is all you see. Stop watching. (sic)”.

He continued: “Team cohesion both on attack and defence does not happen overnight. The players played their hearts out. Courageous warriors. All of them.”

It continues the theme of the Springbok camp being a so-called happy place, where development and honest effort takes precedence over winning.

This happens far too much in South African sport, where it’s better to keep feelings intact than demanding consistent excellence. All it’s doing is creating embarrassing situations.

Earlier this week, Raymond Rhule was summoned back to the Bok camp after missing out against the Aussies. He was there between Sunday and Tuesday.

And then he was summarily sent back to the Cheetahs, who didn’t pick him for last night’s Pro14 clash because he has an ankle injury. Why then was he flown back to Cape Town?

Taking cues from what’s been said, it seems the Boks simply wanted to “protect” Rhule’s feelings because that’s apparently what Springbok culture is about.

Maybe it will pay off at some stage, but it certainly doesn’t seem like the way a ruthless, winning team should operate.