Bulls need to dig deep

NOT too long ago a Super Rugby playoff berth seemed a certainty for the Bulls, but now the Pretoria side will have to pull out all the stops to have any hope of a spot in the playoffs.

The Bulls have been sinking deeper into the depths of misfortune on their Australasian tour as they now have gone nine matches without a win Down Under since 2013, and they are on the brink of 10 consecutive tour defeats.

Also, they slid down from leading the South African conference to third place on the log as both the Stormers and Lions leapfrogged them at the weekend.

The Bulls left New Zealand having lost both their tour matches.

This weekend they will be up against the Brumbies in Canberra for the first of two matches in Australia.

Between 1996 and 2002 the Bulls went for 27 matches without winning in Australia and New Zealand.

To add to their recent woes, the Bulls have suffered a further dent with the loss of Springbok centre Jan Serfontein for the remainder of the tour. He returned home to Pretoria after sustaining a Grade 1 medial knee ligament injury.

Jurgen Visser has joined the team as a replacement for Serfontein.

However, coach Frans Ludeke will be relieved that he does not need to be overly concerned about fullback Jesse Kriel, prop Trevor Nyakane and flanker Lappies Labuschagne’s availability.

Kriel caused some worry when he limped off the Rotorua International Stadium turf with a contusion on his knee, while Nyakane bruised his hip and Labuschagne sustained a trachea contusion. Kriel and Nyakane had a full training session yesterday and Labuschagne will return to training today.

The Brumbies will be well rested after enjoying a bye last week.