Fort Loftus Locked Shut.

Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Saturday, February 20, 2010.

Reigning Super14 champions, The Bulls, took one large step towards a back-up title this season, by outplaying one of their major threats, ACT Brumbies, in a hard-fought, but emphatic victory at their home ground - which their adoring fans have begun to call “Fort Loftus”. No team has been able to successfully storm the fortress since April, 2008 and the Brumbies, who led at half-time, 20-21, and were still in touch, 30-27, at the 60min mark, eventually went the way of all other invaders and were clearly beaten 50-32.

In their dominant period from the 60^th to the 75^th minute, the Bulls scored an unanswered 20 points to establish an unassailable lead, before they ‘rang all the changes’ and brought on all the “new boys”. The Brumbies, who never gave in and who had in fact led for most of the first 50 minutes, scored a consolation try on the full-time bell.

It has been interesting over the last two week-ends to watch the early Super14 rounds and to be able to compare them with the current Six Nations, Magners League and Guinness Premiership matches. Whilst some of the International matches are certainly at a higher level, the better Super14 games are, in my opinion, harder and faster than their Northern Hemisphere cousins. Certainly the new, stringent application of the tackle laws has made try-scoring more prevalent for top sides like The Bulls, but it is impossible to mistake the power and drive in the tackle and at the tackle contest, the accuracy of the passing and the speed and agility of the runners. Whatever the tactic, ‘ball in hand’ or ‘high ball and chase’, the energy and enthusiasm of the Super14 players are there for all to see.

Across the Super14 competition, the South African teams have generally looked a level above those from New Zealand and Australia. Of course, they have been playing at home and South Africa has never been an easy place to pick up wins, but they have looked stronger, fitter and faster than their opponents. ‘Ball in front of receiver’, straight running, speed in support and at the tackle, primary and scrambling defence, are all fundamental to quality performance, and all of these have been present in abundance – certainly with The Bulls, Stormers and Cheetahs. They have ‘hit the ground running’ and are not playing ‘early season form’ at all! The Bulls are the best of the lot, even allowing for the quality performances to date from the Stormers.

The Brumbies, with Matt Giteau back and Rocky Elsom their star recruit, would be on every tipster’s list of potential semi-finalists, but, in the final analysis, they were outplayed. They lost the scrum contest, the lineout contest and the tackle contest. The Bulls were more reliable in their kick-off receipts and more disciplined in clearing their line. In the end, the Brumbies, who were brave, determined and capable, could resist no longer. One had the impression that, if necessary, The Bulls could have widened the gap futher and further, the longer the game went.

From the beginning, the Bulls made their intentions clear. They were off-loading before or out of the tackle and had numbers at the tackle contest, which, at times, simply blew the opposition away. An immediate long place out of the tackle was the order of their day, and this against a team featuring the ultimate ‘scavenger’, George Smith. It was, however, the Brumbies who were able to establish early superiority, both in field position and on the scoreboard. A lot of this was via the work of Rocky Elsom, who looks in peak condition, maybe a kilo or two lighter, and faster and stronger even than last season. Good news for the Wallabies! He scored the Brumbies first try, made all the running for their second, which featured top quality support play and ball interchange from their world-class backrow trio of Elsom, Hoiles and Smith, who scored the second.

The Bulls were not to be panicked however and shunned an early penalty attempt for the lineout. This was the first of a number of such decisions – and this with Morne Steyn in your team. They scored from the phases which followed this lineout via Fourie du Preez, with a little help from referee Mark Lawrence, who blocked a Brumbies’ defender. It was clear that, whilst The Bulls were keen to keep the pace of their game at a very high level with the ball in hand, they were not going to attempt any of this in the shadow of their own posts. They cleared their lines with discipline and security, mainly through Morne Steyn, who regularly drove the Brumbies back well into their own half. The Brumbies could not do, or chose not to do, the same. They frequently fiddled with the ball in hand in their own quarter, often from the restart following a score of their own, and they frequently paid the price. This kept The Bulls in touch during a period of Brumbies ascendency. It is a fundamental axiom of a quality team, that you must immediately re-establish control from the restart following a score. You can be vulnerable at this time – all good teams know this and take care!

As the game progressed, the Brumbies performance dropped off and The Bulls improved. The error rate from dropped passes and missed tackles lifted. Cross-field running lessened the effectiveness of their attack and left them vulnerable to punishing Bulls’ tackling. The Bulls began to control field position and possession and capitalized on a lot of loose Brumbies play, especially from their untidy lineout!

For the Brumbies, Elsom was excellent and Adam Ashley-Cooper was very good. No-one played badly and Pat McCabe, a new boy on the right wing looks useful.

For the winners, everyone looked good or very good; even Steenkamp did well in the scrum! I’m not sure that he could survive a stern examination of his scrum technique – he ALWAYS has his shoulders well below his hips. They are pretty well a complete team. Morne Steyn continues to grow as an attacking fly-half; Olivier is a real handful in mid-field; du Preez looked as if he was cruising and was still a class above the rest (excluding Elsom). Their pack was confident in their ability to ‘manhandle’ the opposition – and they did so.

A last note to all aspiring and incumbent scrum-halves – Fourie du Preez is almost always behind his forward pack to clear the ball. Unlike many other ’pretenders’ to the position, he seems to think that this is a part of his ‘job spec’. He does it pretty well too!

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