Having had a bit of leisure time and having studied the Recording of the Bulls vs Hurricanes match here are my impressions of the match.

The Bulls won a very close encounter, by 19 / 18, scoring one try and conceding 2 tries.

This still unbeaten run of 2010 and with 15 Super 14 wins in a row at Loftus and 11 successive Super 14 wins on the trot sets the Bulls up nicely for going on tour now where they play 4 matches in 4 weeks, starting against the Force, then moving on to play the Blues, Chiefs and Reds.

After stuttering early on in the match the Bulls started taking more and more control of the match, eventually ending with 68% of the possession and only allowing 9% of the game to be played in the Bulls 22m area as opposed to playing 32% of the game in the Hurricanes 22m area.

Hats off to the Hurricanes defence, specially around midfield, for keeping the Bulls at bay with so much quality possession. The Hurricanes also did particularly well in the collision areas and managed to slow down vital Bulls possession.

The Bulls workman-like performance, to grind out a win from behind speaks volumes about the Bulls mindset, confidence and committment.

The only serious blemish on the match was the inconsistent performance of the Referee, Steve Walsh, who made a host of strange decisions against both teams and who also played his part in stifling all attempts to make this a spectacle of flowing rugby.

The game started with a few uncharacteristic handling errors and Morné Steyn missed the 1st Bulls scoring penalty opportunity… and we’re not used to seeing Morné miss.

The Hurricanes drew first blood and second blood with tries by Karl Lowe and Jeremy Thrush, causing the Bulls to lag behind 12 / 0.

The Bulls first points came via a Zane Kirshner try after already 30 minutes in the game had taken place. Before this score Loftus was worried, I was worried and I’m sure most of the viewers at home, from all over South Africa, were worried.

The score was now 12 / 7 and the Blue Machine was starting to slowly get momentum… Morné Steyn made it 12 / 10 with 3 minutes left before half time and slowly our clenched hands started to relax slightly as we saw continued improvement as the game wore on.

On the stroke of half time Willie Ripia slotted a Canes penalty, bringing the half time score to 15 / 10 in favour of the Canes.

After half time the Bulls’ improved run continued with strong rolling mauls, good constructive and conservative play and the Bulls kept the Hurricanes mostly pinned in the Canes half of the field.

Willie Ripia however slotted one more penalty to make the score 18 / 10 in favour of the Canes.

The Bulls buttoned down all the hatches and ground out every inch of territory to play in the Canes half, setting up numerous rolling mauls and one could sense that they were employing this method to take control and to milk the inevitable penalties which would follow… and they did.

Morné made it 13 / 18 from a penalty and after Victor Vito was sin-binned for collapsing a rolling maul made it 16 / 18.

Only after a full 67 minutes on the clock had run it’s course did the Bulls get the opportunity to take the lead, after virtually camping in Canes territory, Vic immediately instructed Morné to take the easy points from close range and almost right in front of the posts…. and over the ball went.

With 5 minutes left in the game, the Bulls decided not to let go of the ball again and with workman-like precision kept the ball away from the Canes for a full 5 minutes till the hooter for full time sounded whereafter Morné immediately and casually booted the ball into touch.

The Bulls win was a collective effort with all players giving their best and one can hardly single out any individual above his team mates.

On the Hurricanes side Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith kept a very close watch on Wynand Olivier and vice versa, it was like Test match rugby.

This of course means that the Hurricanes failed to win a single game whilst touring in South Africa and are now on 3 wins and 3 losses. We hope that the Sharks can step up the needed gears to deal the Canes another 4th loss, this coming weekend.

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After match Press Conferences:

The Bulls were up first with Victor Matfield and Frans Ludeke attending, Victor once again in the same old flowery jeans…. I do not think he has other pants!

There was concern and happiness to be seen on their faces and they were unanimous in describing that they were happy with the win. Sentiments during the interview was that they thought that the close win might be a good thing, keeping them on their toes properly for a tough 4-game tour coming up. Of course, they would not deviate from their “One-game-at-a-time” response when I asked whether they had certain definate goals set for the tour and the number of Log points they hope to gather on tour.

When asked whether they were happy with improved defensive structures, the answer was a “Yes-but”, indicating that they thought that the one-on-one tackles were better but that they would still go and analize the video to see where further improvements can be made.

The Hurricanes coach and captain Andrew Hore then attended and made no bones that it was a tough match and that they were happy with the first half an hour of the game. They gave full credit to the Bulls for grinding out a win and the coach looked me straight in the eyes when I asked about the effect of the Bulls driving mauls. He said that it is an aspect which is worrying and that he felt all the South African sides were very good at it, mentioning that they would have to give due attention to it before they faced the Sharks in their next match.

The coach and captain was happy with the Canes defence, who spent a huge amount of time keeping the Bulls from scoring more than one try.

They indicated that they were glad to be returning home.