Ruan Nortje of Vodacom Bulls during the United Rugby ChampionshipTraining Session at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Tshwane.
Image: BackpagePix
It is not how you start but how you finish is a hackneyed adage, but it accurately sums up the Bulls’ United Rugby Championship season.
On Saturday, the Bulls host Munster in a URC quarter-final (1pm kick-off), which is a notable accomplishment when you consider their dark days in the first half of the tournament, the despairing times when they lost seven consecutive matches.
At the heart of those losses was the team’s identity crisis — they had gone from a team big on structure under Jake White to a team overplaying under Johan Ackermann. They were trying to hit sixes off every delivery until it dawned on them to play to their strengths (including their powerful forwards) before unleashing their lethal outside backs.
There was a specific game where you could see the penny dropping, the 47-7 defeat of the Dragons on April 17.
The Bulls went from 12-7 up at halftime to 30-point winners as they tightened up the game and allowed their forwards to bully the Dragons.
In the build-up to Saturday’s match against Munster, captain Marcell Coetzee agreed that the season had been educational.
“You can't rely on the past, but it's the learnings that you take through the playoffs. Things like when to switch on, when to be accurate. If you do have a negative moment, what is the next moment needed to fix it?
“It is basically driving that mindset this weekend and making sure the boys are in the right space and the right mindset around being accurate when we attack.”
Coetzee highlighted how much the team learned in that difficult period in the URC.
“If we look back at when we were under pressure, it forced us into a knockout rugby mindset every week. So I think we've gotten used to that pressure now, knowing what the task is at hand. We found our mojo through those challenges, and we want to take that to the playoff stage.
“A lot of teams have been battling it out. It's the most unpredictable URC season that I've been a part of throughout my career, especially with this group, and that's where I want to compliment my teammates.
“We just stuck to our system. We backed each other. We believed in each other, and we're going to need that more this weekend, especially with a Munster side that's going to come down here motivated.
Coetzee pointed out that Munster have also had their trials and tribulations this season.
“They have also had their challenges off the field, but I know that will fuel them as well coming to Loftus, and they want to create hope and purpose for their side as well. So I think we have to match that desperation.”