Frans Ludeke
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke faces one of the toughest challenges of his career this week – resurrecting the Bulls campaign.
2 Losses at home from 2 outings has piled on the pressure for the Bulls, with the prospect of their Vodacom Super Rugby campaign further coming off the rails if they don’t beat the Cell C Sharks this coming weekend at Loftus.
And given their current form, it is a mighty ask.
All the promise and excitement pre-season for the Bulls with big victories over Saracens and the Toyota Cheetahs has been burnt up by 2 mediocre outings on their own hallowed turf.
Now, for the 1st time in his tenure as coach of the Bulls, Ludeke must find the answers for a season that is stuttering from the start.
The talk of rebuilding is no longer a factor, with a fully fit side, and 12 Springboks in their ranks, the Bulls cannot use that excuse anymore.
Even in 2008, the last time Ludeke faced such a crisis in his opening season, the Bulls managed to win at home. In 2014 when they lost their opening 2 games, both were away from home, allowing the Bulls to get close to the playoffs with an unbeaten run at their Loftus fortress.
But now, for the first time since 2008, they have lost their opening 2 fixtures.
And there is growing unease at Loftus Versfeld, especially among the fans, who are voting with their feet at the team’s performances. The opening fixture against the Stormers attracted 37000 fans, a figure that dropped to 12000 on Friday night against the Hurricanes, and while Friday night fixtures against foreign teams often struggle to attract fans, the Bulls performances aren’t helping either.
There is a growing chorus that is targeting Ludeke and not the players for the team’s problems, especially in terms of conservative choices in selection and game plan.
The Bulls struggles up front, despite having several Boks in their ranks, the inability of their setpieces to put any pressure on opposition and their poor form in terms of finishing off the opportunities they create are all worries that still have to be addressed by the team.
The Sharks showed just how powerful they could be in the driving Durban rain in the setpieces, and now that they have achieved dominance up front once, they will be looking to repeat that at Loftus on Saturday.
If the Bulls lose to the Sharks at home – a 3rd consecutive home loss – their chances of making the playoffs will be extremely slim – especially as they aren’t known for getting wins on the road, something they will then have to do to get back into contention.
Already there are rumours at Loftus about Ludeke’s position, with the coach being called in after the Stormers game by the board to explain the team’s loss. After a struggling 2014 season where the team’s finances were dealt a blow and players left in droves because of the team’s recruitment policy, it was hoped that 2015 would bring better results.
But suddenly the Bulls look toothless up front, and their senior players are lacking the impact that is needed. To say that teams no longer fear the Loftus factor, nor the Bulls pack, is an understatement.
Still, Ludeke remains positive, and believes his team need just 1 win to rectify matters and get their season on track. Despite the enormity of the Sharks challenge, the Bulls believe they can win on Saturday and make things right.
“When you have 2 performances like that, the best thing to do is just keep quiet and fix it,” Ludeke said.
“We know the areas, there are no grey areas that we need to guess what is costing us. We need to improve. Last week there were some areas that cost us, and we need to be more accurate.”
“There must be more urgency because we lost balls at breakdowns that we could have prevented.
“But you know what is needed, we just need that 1st win and things start falling into place. We’re positive though, we must just keep our heads down. It’s a long season, it’s a tough competition. We need to manage that 1st win, hopefully next week we can get a result.”
Ludeke said in the week before the Hurricanes the game was a “must-win” for the team. The Sharks game has an even higher importance after the loss to the New Zealand side.
But Ludeke points out it is a marathon, not a sprint that wins Super Rugby competitions, and considering he won in 2009 and 2010, he should be given a chance to rectify matters. But it is clear the patience is wearing thin.
“It’s also a must win,” Ludeke added referring to the Sharks game.
“If we say it’s a must win, we realise how important the game is. When you miss out, you need to keep your focus and attitude. This week is a vital one.
“I’ve seen a lot of sides that have lost their first 4 games, and went on. It’s all about getting back on the horse, getting that first win and focusing on next week.
“Don’t focus on the season, just make sure we focus on next week and do what we have to do.”
This weekend’s game against the Sharks would already have been a pressure-cooker, no matter when in the season it is played.
But for the Bulls it has become critical, and for Ludeke the task is excruciatingly important to get right.
More than the points on offer are at stake.
SuperSport
> But Ludeke points out it is a marathon, not a sprint that wins Super Rugby competitions,
But you have to win some along the way
> he should be given a chance to rectify matters. But it is clear the patience is wearing thin.
Rectify or they’ll kick you out on your rectum
Even Voldy says they lack mongrel and the motivation to play
http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/details/bulls-must-change-attitude-game-plan
Bulls must change game plan
The problems at Loftus are greater than indifferent early season form, writes MARK KEOHANE in Business Day newspaper.
How else does one explain a second home defeat?
Something is not right. The physical intensity, synonymous with any successful Vodacom Bulls Super Rugby or Currie Cup campaign, is absent.
The mongrel is missing. The opening quarter stampede has been gone for some time.
The Bulls were my favourites to take the South African conference. I also backed them to be more a contender than pretender for this season’s Super Rugby title.
Yet they’ve looked awful in losing two matches in succession at home – and in both matches the Stormers and Hurricanes respectively have physically owned the Bulls.
SuperSport analyst and former Springbok coach Nick Mallett questioned the Bulls’ recruitment policy after the defeat against the Stormers, and asked questions of a set piece that lacked potency in the scrum and was surprisingly vulnerable in the lineout.
The lineout woes are a surprise, given Victor Matfield’s presence, but it could also be Matfield’s presence that’s adding to the woes at scrum time.
Matfield has never been renowned as a strong scrummager, but the Bulls have never struggled quite as much in the scrums, as has been the case in the last two matches.
The Stormers are a strong physical unit, but it took some getting used to seeing the Hurricanes shoving the Bulls off the ball and seeing the Canes physically superior in the collisions.
The Canes have always had a reputation for possessing backline players with brilliance and individual flair, but seldom have they been spoken of as a unit that physically causes problems.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Canes pack so comfortable in a visit to Loftus. Equally, a Bulls pack so timid and so easily dealt with.
The talk of the Bulls being in a rebuilding phase is absolute nonsense. Coach Frans Ludeke used 12 Springboks against the Stormers and the same mixture of experience and youth started against the Hurricanes.
There are some great individuals in the Bulls lineup, from veteran Bok Matfield to flyhalf Handré Pollard. But as a unit, there’s very little going on and I agree with Mallett that it starts with the absence of something special in the front row.
The front-row woes aren’t the only reason the Bulls are struggling and the lack of results can’t be attributed exclusively to limitations in player depth.
The Bulls, on balance, have one of the better squads in the competition and they should not be winless after two home games.
I don’t see them recovering enough to make a play for a top-six finish unless there’s a change in attitude and also a change in game-plan approach.
The Stormers, for a second successive week, showed enough to get the win, although their failure to get a four-try bonus point against the Blues is rightly a talking point when playing against 14 men for 55 minutes.
The Blues showed greater commitment and application when reduced to 14 but the Stormers, at home, and very comfortable in the set phases, didn’t offer much on attack.
The Stormers were particularly good in the last hour against the Bulls in the season’s opener but this has to be put into context after the Bulls’ continued struggles against the Canes last Friday evening.
The form guide will only come into play after four or five weeks of the tournament and the second week provided as many surprises as week one, if historical tournament standing is the barometer.
One result that wasn’t surprising was the Sharks’ easy win against the Lions, who again look nothing like the team that blossoms in the Currie Cup.
There is a distinct difference in quality between Super Rugby and Currie Cup and there’s also a huge difference when the Sharks play with their current Springboks, especially captain Bismarck du Plessis.
The Lions, less than four months ago, scored 50 points against the Sharks in a home Currie Cup semi-final. But the Sharks didn’t have their contracted Springboks available, and with no such limitations in Durban, the Sharks were a 50-point better team.
The abysmal conditions should have aided the Lions, but Du Plessis produced a master class in the collisions and with the Sharks captain always on the front foot, the Lions never threatened victory.
The Lions, like the Bulls, are without a win in the competition. And like the Bulls, the answers to a winning formula aren’t that obvious.
Ek skree teen my eie span, vir die Sharks. FL moet FO.
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