Bulls coach Pote Human insists they are not in crisis
Bulls coach Pote Human says the Bulls are not in crisis even though they have already lost two consecutive Super Rugby matches this season.
After losing their opening game against the Sharks 23-15 last week‚ they were blanked 13-0 by the Stormers at Newlands.
The Bulls have no points and no tries to show for their efforts over the past two weeks.
For most teams‚ that’s roughly the time to press panic buttons‚ but Human said they’re on the right track despite the fact that they’ve been unable to win.
Human also highlighted the fact that the scoreboard didn’t quite accurately reflect how well his charges acquitted themselves.
“I don’t think it’s a crisis. We had two tough games away from home. Durban isn’t an easy place to play and you don’t come to Cape Town and beat the Stormers. We last beat them here in 2011‚ but I’ve got confidence in these guys turning things around‚” Human said.
“We need to score tries and we need that confidence. With the amount of ball we had‚ we must finish and we must put teams under pressure. The Stormers had one chance with the maul and they scored. That’s the difference between winning and losing.”
Human said his charges‚ who had the lion’s share of possession and territory‚ should have done better with the amount of ball they had. The Stormers defence‚ which hasn’t conceded a point in two home games‚ was resolute.
“If you look at their defence‚ definitely‚ but we played well in this game without actually scoring. I felt our pack was a bit dominant‚ especially when Trevor and Lizo were still on the field. There’s a lot to look forward to and we’ve got three home games now. Those matches aren’t going to be easy‚ but it’s going to be nice to be back at Loftus‚” Human said.
Bulls captain Burger Odendaal didn’t have the best of games on Saturday‚ but said they need to keep calm in order to make the most of their opportunities. With a bye next week‚ Odendaal said they’ll have time to re-energise and refocus.
“It’s marginal and I feel we could have easily won this game. We created a lot of chances and I don’t know if the guys were too eager to get their name on the scoreboard but we lost rhythm and shape on our attack sometimes. If we stick to our shape‚ we’re going to get points on the board‚” Odendaal said.
“We’ve got a bye next week so I want all the guys to clear their heads and get away from rugby. When we come back‚ we’ll set our goals and come back hard. We’re two games down and we don’t have any points so we still have a long way to go.”