No substitute for quality – Mitchell
Bulls coach John Mitchell left his employers in no doubt about what they need to do before the start of next year’s Super Rugby competition.
Having presided over a campaign that yielded just six wins‚ the Bulls coach pinpointed the areas that needed to be addressed most urgently.
“We’ve got very good processes and systems‚” he said.
“We’re gonna have to recruit. It is as simple as that.
“We are going to have to change our model from quantity to quality and create two teams of Super Rugby quality to be able to handle and manage play loads and injuries.
“We have to stop exposing youngsters too quickly in this competition.
“You can’t handle this competition relying on a smearing of Test players and expecting them to last a full season.”
Some may be tempted to remind Mitchell that his team won as many matches as the Stormers‚ whose season has been wholly condemned.
In fact‚ there are strident calls for coach Robbie Fleck to get the boot.
Despite the Bulls’ results‚ Mitchell has remained buoyant‚ only because their poor re The sults are more explicable.
“We haven’t been able to control the number of game impact injuries‚” he said.
“We lost a lot of players through injury.”
Bulls’ final act in Super Rugby this season was a plucky performance in which their toil in the first hour ultimately came to nothing in their 38-12 defeat to the Lions at Ellis Park.
“Our performance was pretty good and I don’t think the scoreline was a true reflection of the game,” the coach said.
“We were quite patched up as well.
“Whenever there were [collapses] or turnovers the referee blew us up quickly – they were allowed to play it out. I want to take [that] up with the referee.”
Reminded that the referee‚ Marius van der Westhuizen, had been inconsistent in that
Some may be tempted to remind the Bulls coach that his team won as many matches as the Stormers‚ whose season has been wholly condemned
area earlier in the season‚ Mitchell pleaded the fifth.
“I might just reserve my judgment to the protocol and the process. I can’t say he’s in outstanding form.” –