Talk about sneaking up on one.
Not much was expected of the Bulls when the new-look and expanded Super Rugby competition got underway at the end of February, but all of a sudden South Africa’s most successful side in this competition are making themselves heard.
With a game in hand over the Stormers and Lions, who lead the way in the Africa Group, the Bulls could well be the out-right leaders come the month-long break at the end of this month, when Super Rugby stalls for the June Tests.
Sure, they have got a somewhat easier fixture schedule, like the Stormers - because they don’t face any New Zealand teams this year - but they still have to get up and win and that’s what they’ve been doing.
With all the attention focused on the Lions, and rightly so because of where they come from and the brand of rugby they’re playing, and the Stormers, the Bulls have quietly gone about their business, losing just once in eight games. The Stormers and Lions have now lost three times in nine outings.
But it’s not just that they’ve been winning. They’ve also rebranded themselves as an attack-minded team, that don’t simply kick the ball for the sake of kicking, and all credit must go to coach Nollis Marais and his management team.
Not much was known of Marais outside of Pretoria when he got the job last year, but he has steadily built the Bulls into a formidable side again and, most pleasing, he has backed players who don’t necessarily have a reputation or name. He’s looked at his squad and picked who he believes will do the job.
Week-in and week-out these players are producing the goods for him; and let’s not forget the Bulls lost flyhalf Handre Pollard before the season started. Have they missed the Bok superstar? Not really.
There is some impressive talent coming through the ranks in Pretoria and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bulls do end up being the best placed South African team at the end of the competition. So, well done to them.
Another new coach who’s impressed this year is Robbie Fleck. Sure, the Stormers came unstuck against the Waratahs on Saturday - a game they should never have lost - but, overall, the Capetonians have been good, with their attack-minded game also catching the eye.
Fleck has plenty to do with this, but so, too, young forwards coach Russell Winter, who moved from Joburg to Cape Town at the end of last year. There was plenty of scepticism in the Cape about these two men taking charge of the Stormers, but they’ve done a fantastic job so far.
Franco Smith hasn’t enjoyed the same success in his first season in charge at the Cheetahs, but give him a year or two and I suspect his team will be right up there.
Right now though it is the Bulls who appear to be gaining the momentum and belief to go all the way - and we all know how tough it is to stop that kind of charge. - The Star