Chop looming for Bulls coach

Bulls coach Nollis Marais (above) is set to be fired this week following his team’s 51-14 thrashing at the hands of the Lions in their Super Rugby derby at the weekend, their eighth defeat in 11 matches.

The union is reportedly already in discussions with potential replacements, including Springbok assistant coach Johan van Graan, the son of the franchise’s CEO, Barend.

Asked after the game at Ellis Park whether it is disconcerting that the union are busy talking to other coaches in mid-season, Marais said: “The board did talk to me and I know exactly what is happening. I am not in the dark. There is going to be an announcement at some stage.”

The coach said basic mistakes and their failure to produce solid first-phase ball had prevented the Bulls from mounting any sort of challenge to the high-riding Lions.

“One week the scrum is not good and then the next week it’s the lineout. The set-piece has to work, the maul has to work because if you’re on the back foot the whole time then you can’t attack, you start throwing 50/50 passes. We need to fix the set-pieces because the inconsistency there is killing us.

“We were at 7-7, but then there were 20 minutes when we made so many errors and those mistakes cost us because the Lions punished us every time we gave them the ball. It’s seven points every time, just like the New Zealand teams, and we were on the back foot the whole time. Things like kicking for the corner just before half-time and we miss touch. We’ve got to be better in all phases,” Marais said.