Battling Bulls must raise their game ahead of Sunwolves clash

‘Brendan is passionate about Springbok rugby’ Six-try Crusaders far too hot for the Tahs

SPRINGBOK coach Allister Coetzee is pleased that Brendan Venter (pictured) will finally join the Springboks to “help turn things around” as defence coach.

Venter, who returned to London Irish to take up a role as technical director before joining Italy’s coaching staff as defence coach later last year, will act in a consulting capacity for the Springboks. He will join the Boks for the second of three training camps in Stellenbosch today.

Venter has become the Boks’ third IT WILL be another long week for the Bulls as they prepare for their match against the Sunwolves in Tokyo, the final game in what can be described as a disastrous tour.

The Bulls would have arrived in Tokyo knowing full well that their season hangs on by a fine thread and another loss could plunge them into a crisis which could lead to heads rolling at Loftus Versfeld.

No South African team has yet lost to the Sunwolves, and as much as the Stormers came close to being that side last year in Singapore with their draw, the Bulls string of losses, including Saturday’s 28-12 defeat to the Chiefs, makes them ripe for the picking.

What may have looked impossible at the start of the season – that such a talented Bulls outfit could be spoken of as probable losers against the Sunwolves – is a sad indictment on the team itself and the management who are meant to guide them into fulfilling the potential that lies within.

Not much of that potential has been evident this season, and while they were commended for showing glimpses of how good they can be in their defeats against the Stormers, Cheetahs and Blues, it would defence specialist in Coetzee’s tenure. Chean Roux has since taken up the position of head coach with the Junior Boks. The Lions’ JP Ferreira acted as defence coach during the Boks’ end-of-year tour after Roux was relieved of his duties.

“We know each other well since our time together at the Stormers, and we share the same values. He will be responsible for defence and ‘exit’ strategies,” said Coetzee.

“Brendan is passionate about Springbok rugby, and wants to help turn things around. He was part of my plans in 2016 already but, unfortunately, he was have been disheartening for many of the Bulls faithful to watch their team again capitulate in the final quarter of their game against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday.

For the better part of the match there had been hope that the Bulls would turn the corner and had finally emancipated themselves from the shackles of their old ways and the reluctance to throw caution to the wind, but they faded again and were left to ponder on the many missed opportunities they left on the field especially in the first half.

Yes there had been opportunities to register more points on the scoreboard in that first half where the Bulls were dominant with possession and territory but their inability to land the final and fatal blow when in the red zone meant that they were not deserving of the points in the first place.

The Bulls were cheaply turned over, especially deep in Chiefs territory with the try-line at their mercy, meaning that all their hard graft came to nought and they were often made to start all over again.

Bulls coach Nollis Marais, left New Zealand for Japan optimistic that his team showed an appetite to play attacking rugby, but was left counting the cost of yet not available because of commitments elsewhere. We delayed confirming this appointment out of respect for Italy’s Six Nations campaign. The public delay did not interrupt our background planning.”

Venter played in 17 Tests and nine tour matches for the Springboks between 1994 and 1999. He was a replacement during South Africa’s historic victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup and also a member of the Boks’ 1999 RWC side.

He also played for the SA Schools team and the Junior Springboks, the Cheetahs and the Stormers. another half-hearted effort from his side.

“I think we were excellent on attack in the first half and had we converted those opportunities then the score might have been different. I think there were opportunities in the second half, but overall it was a much more improved attacking performance,” said Marais.

But the truth of the matter is that regardless of how well the Bulls may have played in Hamilton for three quarters of the game, their season so far paints a grim picture, with one win out of five outings.

At least the Bulls have one more match to play before returning home to play a deluge of matches at Loftus, but will that be too little too late for the three time Super Rugby champions?

“Obviously it is difficult winning one out of five. It was 7-7 last weekend and 9-3 ahead this week and then in the second half we just gave away some points. The Crusaders lost something like five games in a row and still won the championship so I still believe. We have one more away game and then we play a lot at home and the guys are looking forward to that. It is always a difficult start with one of those six games at home. So we must make sure we win our home games,” Marais said. CENTRE Tim Bateman scored a brace of tries as the Crusaders continued their perfect start to the Super Rugby season with an emphatic 41-22 win over the Waratahs in Sydney yesterday.

The Crusaders also grabbed tries from George Bridge, David Havili, Bryn Hall and Ben Funnell as they punished a leaky Waratahs defence on a breezy day at Sydney Football Stadium.

Trailing 19-10 at half-time, the Waratahs fought back to within four points after quick tries to Jake Gordon and replacement winger Taqele Naiyaravoro but crumbled in the final 10 minutes to slump to their fourth loss of the season.

The victory also completed the rout of the Australian conference, with New Zealand sides winning all four trans-Tasman clashes over the weekend.

In a worrying sign for the troubled competition, Australia’s five teams have yet to beat a New Zealand opponent this season.

Waratahs captain Michael Hooper had pledged a “good showing” for home fans before the match but it was the Crusaders storming to a 12-0 lead within 13 minutes.

Fullback Havili set up winger Bridge’s opening try down the left touch-line and then grabbed one himself minutes later, bounding through a yawning hole after a defensive mix-up by Hooper and Tolu Latu.

Hooper made up for the mistake 10 minutes later, diving over from a ruck after scrumhalf Jake Gordon carried the ball to within a metre of the line.

But the home side’s defensive shortcomings were exposed again with a number of missed tackles preceding Bateman’s first try seven minutes from half-time.

The outside centre had his second three minutes into the next half, shrugging off a weak tackle from Reece Robinson to canter beneath the posts. – Reuters