Loftus Versfeld, home to the Currie Cup and Super 14 champions, home to Wynie Strydom and last but not least, home to probably the greatest mass of copyright infringement agents in South Africa, also doubling as ‘the fans’, and please, if you own a cap that says BULL’S and you don’t know what I am talking about, and you don’t understand what is wrong with a cap saying BULL’S, stop reading now (because you probably already missed the thread of the story), and hand yourself over to the nearest police officer.

Be that as it may, the Bulls are currently the most successful South African super franchise ever, and in the same breath, they are also one of the most professional unions in the country, as could be seen in the ease they stopped Bakkies Botha leaving for France a couple of seasons back. (Rumours had it his mother was involved, and that the argument ended with: “AG MAAAAAA!!!”)

For the intelligent way that Bulls players are managed, it is strange to see how dense a great number of their supporters can be. It is a misconception that the other teams in SA hate the Bulls, it is just not true, we only hate the Bulls’ fans, and not all of them.

But this article is not about the fans, it is about the team and their approach to the game of rugby, an approach that, as Jake White will most certainly tell you, works. It has bagged them two super titles in the past three years, and if you listen to them, a World Cup, a Tri-Nations and British & Irish Lions series victory as well (even though there are murmurs going around, saying that there were some other teams involved in the last three as well).

The Bulls game is a forward orientated high-kick and charge affair. Even though it sounds simple, one has to remember, it takes a special skill to perform those kicks accurately, it takes a special breed of mongrel to effectively control the other team’s pack, it takes a few chasers to ensure that those kicks are not wasted, and it takes a ‘no-nonsense’ defence, to prevent the other team running back at you.

2010 sees the Bulls in a partial re-building phase. Firstly they lost Bryan Habana. Yes, he is only one player, but when examining past games, one needs to look at the person putting the pressure during every kick, the guy forcing the mistake, the hands waiting for a spilt ball. Yes, he had an 11 on his back.

Frans Ludeke has started converting young Francois Hougaard into a wing, and we will in all probability see him donning the 11 jersey during the Bulls’ 2010 campaign. However, Hougaard lacks the raw pace that Habana possess, and albeit that he is an extremely promising young player, and no-one is denying his obvious talent, the Springbok year-end tour saw him quite brittle under pressure, which can probably be attributed to his age as much as anything else, but must be a cause of concern for Ludeke and Slaptjips ahead of their upcoming campaign. Losing Habana not only robbed the Bulls of pace, but his obvious value as a 57-test veteran, left a significant gap in the Bulls leadership core.

Wing is however not the main concern as far as the Bulls are concerned, they have far more pressing concerns at centre and prop. Wynand Olivier has been outstanding for the Bulls whenever he was called upon, but outside of him, I can honestly not see anyone of even remotely the same staying power in the midfield. Jaco Pretorius has the credentials, but he lacks the consistency, Watermeyer & Dippenaar has yet to prove themselves and JL Potgieter, with whom Ludeke experimented in the warm-ups had only but a handful of consistent games for the Cheetahs and is far from the finished product in any position, and we have to keep in mind, at the Cheetahs, he was playing behind, probably the most solid pack in SA, which is not the case at the Bulls.

Olivier cannot be expected to do all the attacking in midfield, and neither can he do all the defence. Steyn’s defence at 10, has long been a point of contention. The only reason he has not been caught out at the Bulls is the solid presence of Olivier alongside him. I foresee a very busy season for Olivier, which might just see him losing the hair, so that he can spend less time in front of the mirror, and more time on the field, doing the whole midfield’s work.

At prop it may merely be a matter of confidence, as the current personnel has 2 Super 14’s to show as well as a Currie Cup. The Bulls escaped punishment in 2009 primarily because of their success in the loose, and the dominating boot of Morne Steyn.

With the stricter enforcement of the breakdown rules however, more emphasis will also be placed on the fixed facets, and it is here that the Bulls may be found wanting. Jaco Engels, Guthro Steenkamp and Werner Kruger especially have difficulties applying their hand-brakes, all three love running with the ball, and I now know why. Running is the only way to keep up at the rate their pack is being pushed backwards. I am a traditionalist, meaning that I would rather see a prop NOT handling a ball at any stage, and scoring no tries, rather than see him scrummed up his own arse, because it seems the Bulls front men, have lost focus of their actual roles within the team.

Heynecke Meyer was a forwards coach of note before he took the job at the Bulls, I don’t know, but he might just be the missing link in the Bulls light five. (oops, spelling mistake).

The Team

Traditionally a Bulls outfit always boasted a forward pack of close to a ton. This is still the case, but in the past, lard (it means fat, vet or spek for those BULL’S fans I spoke of earlier) wasn’t necessarily part of the equation, and this is unfortunately the only way that the Bulls props can be described nowadays. With the return of Heyneke Meyer, one expects that the Bulls may return to the scrumming dominance they commanded when he was last at the helm. Should that not happen though, the Bulls will be glad that Morne Steyn is playing for them, because other flyhalves might be less accurate, kicking all the penalties awarded against the Bulls come scrum-time.

At lock Matfield and Botha are impossible to ignore. However, Botha is injured, meaning that either Rossouw, Van der Merwe or Steenkamp needs to step up, and unfortunately none of them possess Botha’s specific skill sets. The signing of Juandre Kruger points toward the fact that the Bulls realize this as well, but Kruger will only join up at the end of June. That being said, I feel the Bulls should still be more than adequate in this department, and would personally have used the money they put aside to sign Kruger, to rather lure another midfielder to Moftus (shite, again with the spelling….)

The Bulls, who traditionally opted for the heavier ball carriers at the side of the scrum, at long last, discovered the talents of the lighter, and infinitely more effective, Dewaldt Potgieter and Deon Stegman who are both exceptional scavengers in the loose. However, with the reinforcement of the laws, one might see the Bulls once again, returning to the ball in hand players such as Rossouw, Nosejob Wannenburg and Van der Merwe. Spies is a given, and should prop up the scrum the whole season, and even though I personally still doubt his class, and whether he really is as good as his reputation, no-one at Loftus gives a shit what I think.

Fourie du Preez is probably even more important to the Bulls than Matfield, his attributes are stuff of legend, and need not even be discussed. He is the main reason why Steyn is playing for the Bulls, because Steyn is probably the only flyhalve in the world that can kick a ball forward, further than Du Preez can pass it backwards.

But with the Springboks to be rested during the Super 14, who will be the combination that steps up? JL Potgieter & Hougaard or Brummer & Adams? And do these four players have what it takes to fill their senior stars’ shoes? Only time will tell, as Potgieter and Hougaard is currently playing out of position, it may not be the wisest of choices.

I have already discussed the centre position, and unfortunately it might be the area the Bulls are most vulnerable at. Olivier cannot be expected to play 80 minutes in 13 or maybe 15 games, but if he doesn’t, well, let’s just say, hard times…

The back three, albeit they lack some pace, are not without merit, Van den Heever, Ndungane, Mametsa and Hougaard are all adequate wings, while Zane Kirchner once again needs to step up, and prove the hype.

The main question is, can the Bulls do it again? The answer…maybe, if their depth isn’t going to cost them.

The Squad:

Backs

Zane Kirchner, Akona Ndungane, Gerhard van den Heever, John Mametsa, Wynand Olivier, Jaco Pretorius, Stephan Dippenaar, Stefan Watermeyer, Morne Steyn, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Francois Brummer, Fourie du Preez, Heini Adams, Francois Hougaard

Forwards

Pierre Spies, Dewald Potgieter, Deon Stegmann, Derick Kuün, Pedrie Wannenburg, Dries van Schalkwyk, Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Danie Rossouw, Fudge Mabeta, Flip van der Merwe, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Werner Kruger, Jaco Engels, Bees Roux, Dean Greyling, Gary Botha, Bandise Maku.