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'No points, but a great start'

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:32

Masterful mentor: Bulls coach Frans Ludeke

Frans Ludeke, coach of the defending champion Bulls, admitted it will count for nothing when the tournament starts in a fortnight, but he had plenty to cheer about after his team smashed the Lions in pre-season games at the weekend.

The Bulls, fielding their most likely first and second string selections against mix-and-match combinations from the Lions, recorded 25-3 (in the early match) and 42-12 (main match) victories over the Lions in Polokwane at the weekend.

Ludeke, apart from the joy of two comprehensive victories, were most delighted that they did not pick up any new injuries.

"We played well at stages and I would say it was a great start to our campaign," Ludeke said about his team's only pre-season outing.

"You do not get any points for a game like this, but psychologically it is always valuable to get a win under the belt and it certainly does create a lot of momentum and positive energy in the team."

Ludeke said the Bulls were strong in the set pieces and he added that Gary Botha was particularly impressive in the scrums and in the tight loose.

"It is very nice to have Gary back, but all the players did what we expected of them and we can definitely build on this performance."

The Bulls, playing without seven Springboks who are nursing injuries of various forms and grades of seriousness and some long-term injuries, came out of the match unscathed - or nearly unscathed, that is.

Jacques-Louis Potgieter, back after a two-year stint with the Cheetahs, left the field with a fracture nose, and has a bump to the leg. But other than that, the Bulls have a clean slate as they prepare for their first match in Bloemfontein against the Cheetahs on Friday, February 12.

"There's still lots of work ahead," Ludeke said, adding: "But generally I'm happy with what the guys did ."

In particular the form of Jaco Pretorius, who looked sharp and eager at outside centre, and the workrate of Pedrie Wannenburg would have impressed Ludeke.

There was also a performance by wing Gerhard van den Heever that showed he has come of age. And Zane Kirchner had one of his very best outings yet for the Bulls.

The Bulls' backline coach Pieter Rossouw said the team adapted splendidly to the new break down laws and he was satisfied with the way some of the younger players performed.

"We worked really hard at certain aspects of our game and it was great to see that the guys did what we practised during training.

"Jacques-Louis Potgieter had a good outing at inside centre and I would say that apart from solid performances by the senior Boks, youngsters such as Stephan Dippenaar, Stefan Watermeyer, Sampie Mastriet and Clayton Blommetjies put up their hands.

"On the whole it was a grand victory and we are very positive about the season that lies ahead."

The Bulls will not play any other warm-up matches and they will immediately shift their attention to their opening match against the Cheetahs.

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