No excuses for Bulls as they fall to experienced Pumas at Loftus Versfeld

The Bulls were their worst enemies in that opening 10 minutes when they had the Pumas under massive pressure during their Currie Cup defeat at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.

While the first half was a tight affair between the two sides, the visitors dominated the second half for a 41-7 victory, scoring six tries, of which five came after the halftime whistle.

Despite the heavy defeat, Bulls head coach Phiwe Nomlomo remains upbeat about their campaign after they started with two strong victories.

“We tripped (in this game) a bit; we didn’t fall,” he said about the loss.

“It is now up to us to get together and ensure we are better by the next time we train to know what we have to fix. We were poor, and we won’t make excuses about it. We were not in the races at all. Yes, we can single out people, but collectively, including the coaches, we must be better in terms of consistency and where we like to get to

“The team won’t get there if we have another bleep like this, that is for sure.”

Nomlomo says the difference was the physicality and speed at which things happened on the field. The Pumas, after waking up, overpowered the Bulls, despite the Springboks in the pack of the home side. They dominated the rolling mauls, scrums and played on the front foot for the entire second half to clinch the crucial clash.

“We will learn from it. It’s a pleasure to learn from a team like this, where you get beaten convincingly. This game taught us a lot of things, and that is what we want.”

Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse said it was tough on the Bulls with the injuries and illness that hit the camp, but they will take the victory.

He spoke to his team about eliminating their errors, and they made fewer mistakes on Saturday than they did last weekend against the Cheetahs.

“The set pieces were brilliant, but we do understand they had young props,” Stonehouse said.

“I must give credit to how we stopped their mauls. We will take the five points. It is very important to get to the top of the log and stay in the fight for the Currie Cup. This competition is all we have; we don’t have anything else.

“This is a great victory.”