A sense of relief overwhelmed Bulls coach Nollis Marais after their unedifying 26-13 win against the Jaguares on Saturday night.
With Blue Bulls Company chief executive Barend van Graan hovering menacingly in the background‚ the win could not have come at a better time for the struggling Pretoria franchise.
They were only able to attract 5800 supporters in the course of securing their second win in seven matches. Their other win at home was against the Sunwolves.
“There is a sense of relief because we were one out of six‚" Marais said.
"It was also important to leave the field having got somewhere and achieved something. There was a good feeling in the team and I could feel it in the changing room.
"The guys were looking forward to being at home. After so much travelling‚ the guys were looking forward to being at home.
“We had a nightmare of a tour and we came to a point where we didn’t think we’d win any of the matches. The players and I had a very good chat and we know how important this win is from a belief perspective.”
While the win was underpinned by Handre Pollard’s 16 points from the boot and tries from Lood de Jager and Travis Ismaiel‚ a man of the match performance from utility prop Trevor Nyakane was at the heart of the victory.
Back at fullback‚ Jesse Kriel also had a return to form even though the jury is still out on who is the best number 15 between him and Warrick Gelant. The latter provided an excellent late cameo to speed up the game.
“I think Trevor had one of his best performances from a scrumming and breakdown perspective. You don’t just find a player of Trevor’s calibre anywhere.
"I’ve got huge respect for him because people said he wouldn’t be able to play at tight head. He was really brilliant tonight and at this point‚ he can also cover openside flank‚” Marais said.
“Jesse was really good and I spoke to him before the game and I told him we haven’t really hit top form and I need a big performance from him. He made a lot of line breaks but we couldn’t finish them off.
"He was looking really good today and that’s the Jesse I know.”
For the next six weeks‚ the Bulls will be enjoying home comforts‚ even though some tasks against the Crusaders‚ Highlanders and the Hurricanes may be a bit too much for them.
"They have the Cheetahs next and Marais is preferring to keep his focus on the next match.
“It’s important for us to win our home games. We’ll take it game by game even though we saw the Stormers lose.
"They haven’t toured yet and they have a tough tour schedule ahead of them. I’m happy because we’ve toured already and I know how tough that is.
"We’re lucky that we’ve got plenty of home games because we have to win those matches‚” Marais said.
“We’re not going to look too far ahead of ourselves because that’s not the right thing to do that the moment. We’re only focussing on the Cheetahs now.
"They’ve played some really good rugby and we need to be at our best to beat them.” - TMG Digital/TMG Sport
Relief for Marais after his beleaguered Bulls charges finally end winless streak
A sense of relief overwhelmed Bulls coach Nollis Marais after their unedifying 26-13 win against the Jaguares on Saturday night.
With Blue Bulls Company chief executive Barend van Graan hovering menacingly in the background‚ the win could not have come at a better time for the struggling Pretoria franchise.
They were only able to attract 5800 supporters in the course of securing their second win in seven matches. Their other win at home was against the Sunwolves.
“There is a sense of relief because we were one out of six‚" Marais said.
"It was also important to leave the field having got somewhere and achieved something. There was a good feeling in the team and I could feel it in the changing room.
"The guys were looking forward to being at home. After so much travelling‚ the guys were looking forward to being at home.
“We had a nightmare of a tour and we came to a point where we didn’t think we’d win any of the matches. The players and I had a very good chat and we know how important this win is from a belief perspective.”
While the win was underpinned by Handre Pollard’s 16 points from the boot and tries from Lood de Jager and Travis Ismaiel‚ a man of the match performance from utility prop Trevor Nyakane was at the heart of the victory.
Back at fullback‚ Jesse Kriel also had a return to form even though the jury is still out on who is the best number 15 between him and Warrick Gelant. The latter provided an excellent late cameo to speed up the game.
“I think Trevor had one of his best performances from a scrumming and breakdown perspective. You don’t just find a player of Trevor’s calibre anywhere.
"I’ve got huge respect for him because people said he wouldn’t be able to play at tight head. He was really brilliant tonight and at this point‚ he can also cover openside flank‚” Marais said.
“Jesse was really good and I spoke to him before the game and I told him we haven’t really hit top form and I need a big performance from him. He made a lot of line breaks but we couldn’t finish them off.
"He was looking really good today and that’s the Jesse I know.”
For the next six weeks‚ the Bulls will be enjoying home comforts‚ even though some tasks against the Crusaders‚ Highlanders and the Hurricanes may be a bit too much for them.
"They have the Cheetahs next and Marais is preferring to keep his focus on the next match.
“It’s important for us to win our home games. We’ll take it game by game even though we saw the Stormers lose.
"They haven’t toured yet and they have a tough tour schedule ahead of them. I’m happy because we’ve toured already and I know how tough that is.
"We’re lucky that we’ve got plenty of home games because we have to win those matches‚” Marais said.
“We’re not going to look too far ahead of ourselves because that’s not the right thing to do that the moment. We’re only focussing on the Cheetahs now.
"They’ve played some really good rugby and we need to be at our best to beat them.” - TMG Digital/TMG Sport
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