Bulls coach believes there is still hope
THERE was no place to hide for beleaguered Bulls coach Nollis Marais in the aftermath of their shambolic 62-24 record home defeat to the Crusaders on Saturday.
Not only did the Bulls concede 10 tries‚ they were regularly shoved off their own ball in the scrums and fell off tackles very easily.
That partially explained the mass half-time exodus by the fans when the hosts were trailing 31-3.
Marais did not want to acknowledge that his job could be on the line after their sixth loss of what has been an underwhelming campaign.
However‚ he did admit the team was at a crossroads‚ especially with the way his “month of hell” started.
The lack of fire and passion in a game against a New Zealand side they had not lost to at home since 2008 was astounding and pointed to a poorly coached side.
“That’s a decision that I can’t make and there are two coaches in life – it’s the one who is fired and the one who is going to get fired‚” Marais said.
“The only thing I can do now is to focus on the team getting ready. I know there are unhappy people and I can accept that.
“Whatever happens now is a board decision and whatever decision is made‚ I’ll accept.
“Defeat isn’t good but you’ve got two options in life. It’s either you stand up and fight or sit in the corner and let everybody kick you.”
Marais said the buck stopped with him in terms of the team being substandard, with the competition starting to sift the grain from the chaff.
The Bulls had suffered the early indignity of being the first South African side to lose to the Sun wolves, but all their paperedover cracks were exposed by a Crusaders side that did not have to shift out of fourth gear despite the wide winning margin.
The Highlanders‚ the Bulls’ next opponents‚ may be a poor man’s Crusaders but the lack of defensive fight from the Bulls must have been something Tony Brown’s side noticed.
The Highlanders fought back from a 41-24 deficit to beat the Cheetahs 45-41 in the last five minutes in Bloemfontein.