The Bulls are on full Log points after their 4 games (after week 5), having earned their bonus point in every game.

But is everything fine… what about defensive structures? What about concentrating for 80 minutes? What will happen against the better teams with sloppy defence like this?

The Bulls romped to a quick-fire 3 tries to nil lead within about 14 minutes on Saturday against the Highlanders and we were rubbing our grubby hands together in anticipation of a romp of epic proportions which seemed imminant….

A very special moment in the game was Gerhard van den Heever’s 70 metre pearler of a try, where he smoked them for speed, bamboozled them with angles of running and easy stepping them…. they simply had no chance!

But then somehow they lost focus and the Bulls played a mish-mash of brilliant rugby followed by the most ordinary “Lions-type” of rugby for the rest of the game.

The Bulls allowed the Highlanders to score soft try after soft try, whilst scoring their own tries in the process too. In fact, the Bulls allowed Israel Dagg to score a hatrick of tries and also allowed the Highlanders to earn a bonus point for tries in the process.

Gurthro Steenkamp went off with an apparant hamstring twinge but the good news from Bulls coach Frans Ludeke Saturday night was that Gurthro was only taken off as a precautionary measure and re-assured us that Gurthro will be just fine.

Both Derick Kuun and Morne Steyn also went off for blood injuries but they are fine too.

According to the Bulls web site, here is a summary as they saw the game:

The Vodacom Bulls scored seven tries at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday to beat the Highlanders 50-35 in a pulsating Vodacom Super 14 match, securing a fourth consecutive win and staying top of the log of the competition.

A brace of tries by Pierre Spies and Francois Hougaard and a great solo run of all but 70 meters by Gerhard van den Heever laid the foundation for the win, the third in which the Bulls scored 50 points against their opponents.

Credit to the Highlanders, who refused to stop playing and scored five tries in the process. Hard-running fullback Israel Dagg got a hat-trick.

The Bulls was rampant in the opening 30 minutes, scoring four tries to secure the bonus point, but did made some errors later in the game. The Highlanders, to their credit, played better as the match went on.

There was never any doubt about the victory to the Bulls though.

My interpretation of the After Match Press Conferences:

Firstly, let me sketch the scene… for the Bulls, coach Frans Ludeke, dressed in jacket and tie, Victor Matfield, dressed in T-Shirt and those bloody aweful flower power jeans of his with slops on the feet and Pierre Spies, the man of the match, dressed in shorts and slops and a basketball-style T-Shirt, walzes casually into the room…

Damn, that Pierre Spies is a huge boy…. he’s got muscles in places where other people do not even have places. Surely the boy lives in a gym!

The questions started and of course I got my fair share of questions in, after all I have never been known to be shy.

When asked about the Bulls defence or lack thereof one could see the eyes of Victor Matfield, Pierre Spies and Frans Ludeke widen considerably and they immediately said that after the game the first thing which was voiced by all the players was that they were not happy with their sloppy defence on the day and that they need to sharpen up this department of their game.

When I asked about complacency possibly being their biggest enemy (bdb’s question) Victor Matfield was very definate in his answer, he said that with a Team like the Hurricanes looming on Friday and with the overseas tour thereafter, there is no way they can even entertain becomming complacent… and I believe him.

I also asked whether they are chasing certain goals or records, having already won 14 Super 14 games in a row at Home and having already won 10 Super 14 games in a row. Once again Victor was specific, their aim and focus is on the next game only, in fact personal and team milestones receive very little attention in the week, they focus on the business at hand.

Frans Ludeke was pleased with the result of course and said “We put 50 up again on the scoreboard and are still top of the log. One cannot complain about something like that.”

For the Highlanders coach Glenn Moore and his captain Jamie Mackintosh, the mood was obviously a bit more somber. Glenn admitted that the poor first half by his side laid the foundation for the Bulls win.

“We made too many errors early on. We dropped balls, could not cope with the high balls and allowed their ball carriers too much space. You can’t do that and expect not to be punished. Not if you are playing against a quality side like the Bulls. We fought back well, but we never really had a change after that start.”

The Highlanders are now on their way back home and play the Sharks this comming weekend, a prospect they are looking forward to.