In the aftermath of the 31-19 victory over the Lions, Bulls coach Jake White wasn’t entirely happy with the performance, despite his team securing a try bonus point as well.
That was an understandable reaction, considering the fact that they were 17-0 ahead in 14 minutes, but then allowed the Lions back into the game to make it 17-14 at halftime.
The Bulls confidence would’ve been shaky at that point, as they had lost 29-19 to the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld a week earlier, and had been fortunate to hold off the Stormers 33-32 in Cape Town before that.
The Pretoria side, though, pulled off a valuable win against a spirited Lions outfit, and did it with a number of new faces that White had introduced last week.
Top of that list was outside centre Stedman Gans, who was chosen as the Player of the Match. The former Blitzboks captain was full of running, making a couple of line-breaks and some incisive surges through the Lions defence, while also being rock-solid with his tackles.
He was unfortunate to ‘take one for the team’ for a yellow card close to the Bulls tryline.
It was a bit odd to hear White saying afterwards that “I’m not for one minute saying that Stedman was poor” in trying to explain that he felt hooker Johan Grobbelaar should’ve received the Player of the Match award, even though the No 2 was outstanding too.
Gans deserved praise instead for a strong performance, and he will hopefully remain at No 13 for Saturday’s showdown with the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld (5pm kick-off).
White also mentioned that the Bulls “weren’t brave enough” in describing Embrose Papier’s decision to kick a ball back to the Lions, who subsequently scored in the movement that led to Gans’ yellow card.
But the Bulls director of rugby was brave himself in making key changes last weekend, and he should continue in the same vein for the massive Stormers clash on Saturday.
Sebastian de Klerk added some bite to the Bulls attack with his pace and direct running out wide, Mpilo Gumede was fiery as a ball-carrier and defender at No 8, and lock Cobus Wiese brought a hard edge in the tight-loose with his barges around the fringes.
On the bench, utility back Keagan Johannes made some vital clearances and other classy touches as a replacement flyhalf for Willie le Roux in the last 12 minutes.
Those new additions to the team brought a necessary freshness to the Bulls against the Lions, and White needs to be brave in selection going forward to help the team deal with the hectic playing schedule and the ever-increasing injury list.
The Bulls boss will name his team for the Stormers clash on Friday, and will probably try to select his strongest possible side, as they will enjoy a three-week break until their next encounter against Leinster in Pretoria on March 22.
But then they face Italian minnows Zebre at Loftus, which may be followed by a five-week nightmare period that White mentioned last week, which starts against Bayonne in France in the Challenge Cup round of 16 on April 5.
If victorious, the Bulls will face the winner of Edinburgh (away due to a higher seeding) and Lions (home) in the quarter-finals a week later, so it means they will either stay up north, or travel back to Pretoria.
The problem there is that their next two URC games on April 19 and 25 are against Munster in Ireland and Glasgow in Scotland.
The Challenge Cup semi-finals take place on the first weekend in May, and then the Bulls take on Cardiff and the Dragons in consecutive weeks in Pretoria.
That is followed by the Challenge Cup final on May 23 in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
So, if you’re exhausted by all of that, imagine how the Bulls players will feel?
That is why it is crucial that White is bold with his selections over the next three months and not shy to give more game-time to perennial fringe players such as Gans, Gumede, Johannes and others to give the Bulls the best possible chance of winning the URC and Challenge Cup titles.