Bulls Need To Step Up

The defending champion Blue Bulls will be out to get their Currie Cup campaign back on track against the Sharks in Pretoria, following last week’s shock loss to the Pumas.

The Blue Bulls currently reside in fourth place on the tournament ladder after narrowly losing to the Pumas 22-21 in Nelspruit last Friday, and will be desperate to get back to winning ways to keep their aspirations of hosting a semi-final alive.

The Pumas were tigers in defence, outstanding in using turnaround possession and showed the guts which brought them close to first-round wins against Griquas and the Lions and also saw them extend Free State.

For rugby in the country districts, this win was a breakthrough – as was the crowd of 24 000 which augurs well for the future of the Pumas and their plans to relocate their headquarters from Witbank to Nelspruit.

For the Blue Bulls, the close squeak against the Leopards and another one against Griquas over the past two weeks, wasn’t to be this time, and there is plenty for coach Frans Ludeke to ponder. There is simply too much class and talent in this side to have a record of four wins and four losses from eight outings.

Ludeke rightly noted that Saturday’s meeting with the Sharks was an important fixture for his side. The Sharks were the only team that defeated the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld during the 2009 Currie Cup and will be hoping that history repeats itself when these sides meet in Pretoria

“The Sharks have their tails up and deserve to be on top of the log at the moment,” Ludeke said.

“We cannot afford to drop a home game and it is time for us to force our authority on the competition. Last weekend was very disappointing, but we get an opportunity to rectify that this weekend.”

Meanwhile, Blue Bulls stand-in captain Derick Kuun admitted that the saga involving prop Bees Roux has had a negative effect on the team’s aspirations to defend their Currie Cup title.

Roux allegedly beat to death a police officer in the early hours of last Friday.

Kuun said the focus this week was getting their campaign back on track, even though they are having to deal with the dark cloud hanging over Roux.

“He is one of our good friends and a friend of the team. It was a big shock for everyone but we are looking past that,” he said.

“If we dwell on the past, we won’t be able to do anything in the future. This is an important week for us, not only in the match, but in the log standings as well.

“We know it is an important one, so we will put this behind us.

“We need a good performance at the weekend.”

Planet Rugby