THE Bulls may have missed the targets they had set themselves for 2014, but it is not all doom and gloom, chief executive Barend van Graan said.
Failing to reach the Super Rugby play-offs and being knocked out in the Currie Cup semifinal fell short of the goals the union had set themselves.
"We started the season aiming to win all the competitions we entered. The Vodacom Bulls just came up short in the Super Rugby competition, mainly due to an inability to win on the road," Van Graan told Sowetan yesterday.
They finished ninth overall and second in the SA conference of the Super 15.
He continued to express his satisfaction about things that have gone relatively well this year:
"The Blue Bulls made the semifinals of the Currie Cup, our Vodacom Cup side played in the semifinals of that competition and our under-19 and under-21 sides are contesting the finals of their competitions this weekend.
"We have produced new Springboks Handre Pollard and Marcel van der Merwe and had a significant number of players in the Junior Springbok squad, confirming one of our other objectives, to deliver players to national teams."
The topsy-turvy season saw the Bulls attracting some of the lowest spectator numbers at Loftus Versfeld. Although Van Graan admitted the drop in attendance figures was reason for concern, he insisted that it was not a crisis faced by the Bulls only.
"There were ups and downs in our performance graph and that created some unhappiness amongst our fans, but we would not want it any other way. We demand high standards of our squads, so it is only fair if our supporters set the bar as high for us as administrators and officials," he said.
"Attendance figures in 2014 were disappointing, but that is a general trend in the domestic game and something all unions will be concerned about. No Bulls team will ever take the field with-out giving their best and one can only hope that the Loftus faithful appreciate and support that."
Part of the gripe the Bulls fans had was with the tactics and player selections made by coach Frans Ludeke. Some of the fans even called for the coach, who has been at the Bulls since 2008, to be sacked.
Van Graan was evasive on whether the Bulls board would bow to the pressure from the supporters or continue giving their full support to Ludeke.
"We said from the start of the Currie Cup season that we can only make a full performance assessment of coaches, management and players once the season is concluded. We have one week left, with our junior sides contesting their finals," said the chief executive.
Still feeling bullish
THE Bulls may have missed the targets they had set themselves for 2014, but it is not all doom and gloom, chief executive Barend van Graan said.
Failing to reach the Super Rugby play-offs and being knocked out in the Currie Cup semifinal fell short of the goals the union had set themselves.
"We started the season aiming to win all the competitions we entered. The Vodacom Bulls just came up short in the Super Rugby competition, mainly due to an inability to win on the road," Van Graan told Sowetan yesterday.
They finished ninth overall and second in the SA conference of the Super 15.
He continued to express his satisfaction about things that have gone relatively well this year:
"The Blue Bulls made the semifinals of the Currie Cup, our Vodacom Cup side played in the semifinals of that competition and our under-19 and under-21 sides are contesting the finals of their competitions this weekend.
"We have produced new Springboks Handre Pollard and Marcel van der Merwe and had a significant number of players in the Junior Springbok squad, confirming one of our other objectives, to deliver players to national teams."
The topsy-turvy season saw the Bulls attracting some of the lowest spectator numbers at Loftus Versfeld. Although Van Graan admitted the drop in attendance figures was reason for concern, he insisted that it was not a crisis faced by the Bulls only.
"There were ups and downs in our performance graph and that created some unhappiness amongst our fans, but we would not want it any other way. We demand high standards of our squads, so it is only fair if our supporters set the bar as high for us as administrators and officials," he said.
"Attendance figures in 2014 were disappointing, but that is a general trend in the domestic game and something all unions will be concerned about. No Bulls team will ever take the field with-out giving their best and one can only hope that the Loftus faithful appreciate and support that."
Part of the gripe the Bulls fans had was with the tactics and player selections made by coach Frans Ludeke. Some of the fans even called for the coach, who has been at the Bulls since 2008, to be sacked.
Van Graan was evasive on whether the Bulls board would bow to the pressure from the supporters or continue giving their full support to Ludeke.
"We said from the start of the Currie Cup season that we can only make a full performance assessment of coaches, management and players once the season is concluded. We have one week left, with our junior sides contesting their finals," said the chief executive.
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