Bulls hope for ‘change of mindset’
AS they prepare to host the Blues at Loftus tomorrow, the Bulls must be wary of squandering the inheritance bequeathed unto them by Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks.
Evidence from the opening weeks of Super Rugby suggests that there is an air about South African teams at the moment.
There is a spring in the step of the players, coupled with a rise in rugby interest across the country.
These are the fruits of the historic third World Cup win, in Japan last year.
More than that, Erasmus and his team of tactical vikings gave the country a blueprint of how to infuse traditional South African strengths with modern-age, cutting-edge and cavalier rugby.
The World Cup final against England was an exhibition of said infusion: the Boks brought bulldozers to the forwards battle, which softened England up for the artists in the backline to go about their business.
So far in this competition, the Sharks and Stormers have taken a lot of that on board, with the Lions gallantly trying to revive the style that took them to three straight finals. The Bulls, however, have regressed.
Teams have shown South Africans a level of respect across the competition that had perhaps waned since the last time the country’s sides were a force.
The Hurricanes went to Cape Town in round one fully expecting to have a tough outing against Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe and Co. They weren’t disappointed. The Stormers displayed the nearest thing you’ll get, on a tactical level, to the Springboks the last time they played.
In shutting out one of New Zealand’s most attacking sides (27-0) they showed what could be achieved with a change of mindset and playing on the front foot. The Sharks followed that with a brave win over the Highlanders in Dunedin, before going down courageously against the Hurricanes last weekend.
South African teams aren’t going to sit back and let the New Zealanders do all the playing, while they hope to get incremental scoreboard points via the boot.
But the Bulls have not caught up to this mindset, yet. Coach Pote Human, in what can be construed as an admission that they got their approach wrong in the opening two defeats to the Sharks and Stormers, said there was a visible “change of mindset” in the players at training ahead of the Blues clash.
That it took two potentially costly winless and try-less weekends for them to realise that rugby has moved on from what it was 30 years ago – to paraphrase England coach Eddie Jones’ jibe to the press in Japan last year – is an indictment on their coaching staff.
The Blues’ struggles have been well documented and despite notable improvements in their defence, they are still New Zealand’s most vulnerable team. Failure to put them to the sword at home on Saturday, showing signs of adventure and open-mindedness, will cast a long dark shadow over the rest of their campaign.