Bulls fall well short of expectations

Bulls assistant coach Hugo van As echoed the widely expressed sentiment that their season had been a big disappointment.

For a team as well stocked on the field as they are in their coaches' box and that has a history as rich as its owners, the Bulls fell well short of expectations. They crashed out at the quarterfinal stage of the United Rugby Championship (URC), and on Saturday the Cheetahs wrecked another campaign by winning their Currie Cup semifinal 39-10 in Bloemfontein.

What will make the defeat for Bulls fans even more difficult to digest is that their team rolled out their heavy URC artillery and still fell well short against a side that doesn't even feature in that elevated competition.

Questions will be asked of the Bulls' vast coaching group under the stewardship of the much celebrated Jake White.

The director of rugby left it to assistant coach Van As to explain how a resourceful franchise like the Bulls is so far removed from expectation.

“Let's be honest. The Bulls is a very proud union, organisation. We are very disappointed losing in the quarterfinals of the URC and losing in the semifinals of the Currie Cup,” he said.

Van As tried to explain their underachievement. “It's been a long season and the team has played a helluva lot of rugby. As much as this team and this group of players have shown so much character to keep on fighting and make the semifinals, maybe at the end of the day that counted against us.”

Van As may not be far off the mark. Next week's Currie Cup final will be contested by two non-URC entities, the Cheetahs and the Pumas. While the Cheetahs had engagements in the Challenge Cup north of the equator, they were nothing as rigorous as the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions experienced.

“Credit must also go to this group,” insisted Van As.

“They showed they want to participate, they want to be part of the Currie Cup.

“After five, six rounds we were down and buried. This group showed a lot of character. But to be honest we are disappointed with our season.”

Still, one expected more from the Bulls. The manner in which the Cheetahs disposed of them was, in the end, comprehensive.

As much as the visitors were blunt in attack, the Cheetahs didn't just show their claws, they used them.

Van As was magnanimous in defeat.

“They brought their physical game to the party. They rushed us in defence. The breakdowns were messy. They deserve credit because they were also disrupted in the front row. That's why they are No 1 in the competition.”

Van As said the game was determined by small margins in the first half. “We had a lot of opportunities we didn't use. One or two tough decisions - [though] not so much decisions but the bounce of the ball. If we used our opportunities a bit better we would have been in a different situation.

“Our line-outs, which had been brilliant this season, were a bit messy. Credit to them for putting pressure in the right areas but there's blame at our door because we weren't sharp enough on the day.”

The Bulls have much to ponder. Van As said their players need to step away from the game in their time off.

“These boys deserve a good break, a mental and physical break. Just get away from each other, don't think about the game, refresh, it will be good for them.”

He understands there will have to be a thorough post-mortem of their season. Some new personnel will be part of their quest for solutions.

“Obviously a couple of players will be joining. We understand the Bulls supporters are proud and passionate about the game. We want to assure them we will be better.”