Marutlulle: Bulls are on the way
People have been waiting for the new dawn at Loftus Versfeld for the whole year, but the glimmers of light that were visible on the horizon last weekend against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein will be put to a far greater test today when the Blue Bulls take on the Sharks in their Currie Cup clash at King’s Park.
And it is worth remembering that the Bulls’ propensity to flatter to deceive was displayed most obviously in their Super Rugby matches against the Durbanites. Their 40-10 destruction of the Sharks in Durban in mid-April was arguably their most complete performance of the year, and marked them out as play-off contenders. But a month later they needed their 39-33 win in Pretoria to keep those hopes alive, albeit temporarily.
Their history in the Currie Cup is very different, however, with the Sharks winning nine of their last 10 matches, including the semifinal in Durban last year.
Edgar Marutlulle (below) is a well-travelled player who is now at his fourth union, and he believes the sun is about to rise on the Blue Bulls.
“We’re on the way, the breadcrumbs are there and we just have to follow them, we’re heading in the right direction. John Mitchell is an incredible philosopher and a student of rugby and we are indebted to him for our structure and game plan. We are still reaping the fruits of it.
“The Cheetahs are probably one of the strongest teams, so beating them has given us a lot of confidence, it was a good stepping stone. We start with the toughest teams, away from home, so if we can do well this weekend too, then it will be very exciting going forward and it will put us more at ease,” hooker Marutlulle said.
The Sharks, who did make the Super Rugby playoffs but lost in the quarterfinals to the Crusaders, the eventual champions, are also thinking about ending the year on a high and, with plenty of big-name players still available, they are looking to make a high-energy start to the Currie Cup after a bye last weekend.
“The guys have come back energised, we’ve had good practises with short but really intense sessions, and we’re raring to go. The Blue Bulls are formidable, they played really well against the Free State Cheetahs and they have some guys back like Jesse Kriel, so it’s going to be a really tough contest,” Sharks coach Robert du Preez said.
“But we believe we have the squad on paper to win the Currie Cup, now we have to go out and do it on the field. We need to hit the ground running, we can’t miss a beat because it’s a short season.”