Bulls start brightly, but then inevitably fade

Never mind a gold-plated chance, the Bulls had a platinum-coated opportunity to turn their season around in spectacular fashion against the star-studded Chiefs in Hamilton at the weekend, but ultimately succumbed to the same old failings of missed opportunities and a second-half fade.

A superb first-half display saw the Bulls leading 9-3, but their dominance in terms of territory and possession suggested they should have been further ahead. But they could only maintain the spark for 50 minutes, after which the Chiefs scored the first of their three tries and eventually cruised to a comfortable 28-12 victory.

“We had excellent attack in the first half, but if you don’t convert that into points then it makes it difficult. In the second half we just made too many mistakes, like losing your lineout and then they attack from that and it gives the opposition momentum and belief,” coach Nollis Marais said.

Marais was disappointed, however, that the Chiefs were allowed by referee Nick Briant to get away with conceding a string of penalties while under pressure in the first half, which meant the Bulls could only build the scoreboard in three-point increments.

“Three times when we had more than 60% territory, we were in good attacking positions and they would just give us penalties so as to concede only three points. They should have had yellow cards,” Marais complained.

As impressive as the Bulls were – their intensity and tempo had certainly lifted in those first 50 minutes – they still have plenty of work to do as an attacking package.

“We were good in the Currie Cup when it comes to turnover ball and it comes down to decision-making. The Chiefs were very good at the breakdown and at stopping us on their tryline, but it’s certainly something we must improve on,” Marais said.