The Bulls may have catapulted to top spot on the Super 15 log, but they will have much to mull over when they review their 20-19 victory over the Sharks at Loftus.
They take on the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday in a match that could cement them as league winners, but they hope to uncover the reasons they invited so much unwanted attention from the referee at the ruck two days ago.
Both captain Dewald Potgieter and coach Frans Ludeke looked mystified when asked why they fell so decisively on the wrong side of the law as interpreted by referee Jason Jaftha.
"We'll have to look at the video to see what went wrong," said Potgieter.
"A lot came down to the breakdown. We needed to make an adjustment. There were lots of technical calls.
"We tried to put pressure on the Sharks physically at the breakdown but sometimes we went in there with reckless abandon. It was a good learning school.
"There was a time when we decided to stay out of the breakdown and just get numbers on our feet and create turnovers in other ways," explained Potgieter.
It helped and having shot into the lead through a Jano Vermaak try in the 72nd minute, Potgieter and his team-mates had to watch Sharks fullback Riaan Viljoen line up a penalty on full-time.
He missed and the Sharks were left to lament watching 16 points go astray through errant goal kicking.
"We definitely got a get-out-of jail card. A few things went against us but we showed composure and resilience. This was a big win for us," said Potgieter.
By the time they kick off against the Stormers, the Bulls will know whether the Chiefs (away to the Blues) or the Brumbies (away to the Force) have leapfrogged them on the points table.
Coach Ludeke, however, is unlikely to wrap some of his players in cotton wool with 11th-hour amendments.
"It is important that you keep your combinations together. We are a unit and it is important to retain that continuity. We'll have our strongest possible team," said Ludeke.
The coach knows, despite a disappointing season by their standards, the Stormers will be hell-bent on exiting the tournament on a high. "We tend to bring the best out of each other. We want to finish on a high because we have a lot to play for," said Ludeke.
- Butch James has been suspended for four weeks after being found guilty of a dangerous tackle on the Bulls' Jurgen Visser.
James got a yellow card for the incident during the game, but was still cited and it was found that the tackle deserved more.
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