[2015 Super Rugby] Bulls vs. Crusaders (Round 7) 28/03/2015

[TRF_heineken]

Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

19:10 CAT, (SA, GMT+2)​

Teams

Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Arno Botha, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Morne Mellet

Substitutes: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Dean Greyling, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Hanro Liebenberg, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Jurgen Visser, 23 Marcel vd Merwe

Crusaders: Israel Dagg, Kieron Fonotia, Ryan Crotty, Tom Taylor, Nemani Nadolo, Dan Carter, Andy Ellis, Kieran Read (c), Richie McCaw, Jordan Taufua, Sam Whitelock, Luke Romano, Owen Franks, Ben Funnell, Joe Moody.

Substitutes: Codie Taylor, Wyatt Crockett, Nepo Laulala, Jimmy Tupou, Matt Todd, Mitchell Drummond, Colin Slade, David Havili.

Referee: The Red Card Ref (Angus Gardner)

 

[TRF_heineken]

Yay!!

Burger Odendaal has returned to training!!

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15/Odendaal-boost-for-Bulls-20150324

 

[MotherRucker1]

Can't say I've been tracking the Bulls' matches all that much each week, but I think the Crusaders will be capable. The main guys are back now, so I expect the 'Saders to find a bit of rhythm. I'm guessing McCaw will be back at blindside, pushing Taufua to the bench. Ben Funnell to start at hooker again probably. There's some bruising forward packs in this one, and it's being referred by Gardner so that will be interesting!!

I'm picking a win for our boys, and maybe a loss next week against the Sharks? Joe Moody to get a start in the 15 at some stage of this tour I reckon.

 

[Shaggy]

Jonathon Kaplan says my Crusaders cheat at scrum time ... I'm shocked that front rows cheat ... take it from me, the Saders don't ... and I only need one eye to see that

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...arks-controversy-over-illegal-crusaders-scrum

Crusaders named

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...-first-fiveeighth-for-crusaders-against-bulls

Crusaders: Israel Dagg, Kieron Fonotia, Ryan Crotty, Tom Taylor, Nemani Nadolo, Dan Carter, Andy Ellis, Kieran Read (c), Richie McCaw, Jordan Taufua, Sam Whitelock, Luke Romano, Owen Franks, Ben Funnell, Joe Moody. Reserves: Codie Taylor, Wyatt Crockett, Nepo Laulala, Jimmy Tupou, Matt Todd, Mitchell Drummond, Colin Slade, David Havili.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Victor back in the starting 15.

Burger Odendaal been given another week to recover. (He'll most probably play vodacom cup this weekend).

That is a very strong starting line-up for the Bulls.

 

[MotherRucker1]

Hmm, not sure about Carter starting at 10. He has shown signs of getting back to his best here and there in recent weeks but against the Bulls in an away match might be a little risky. On the flip side, if everyone's legs are tiring and suddenly you sub him for Slade who can make a big impact, it might cause problems for the Bulls.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Hmm, not sure about Carter starting at 10. He has shown signs of getting back to his best here and there in recent weeks but against the Bulls in an away match might be a little risky. On the flip side, if everyone's legs are tiring and suddenly you sub him for Slade who can make a big impact, it might cause problems for the Bulls.

Yes, well Carter will be up against Handre Pollard, who has been in good form this year. It would be interesting to see the battle between the old AB and the young Bok.

 

[Amobokoboko]

Crusaders are a bit behind but should be able to fight their way back.

 

[SomeOke]

Nice game, I'm happy for the Bulls and there supporters and it takes the sting out of our loss to the Highlanders yesterday somewhat.
I have to hand it to you Heineken I rated Odendaal in CC but you seemed a little to keen for an untested Super Rugby player, in the end he was the best player in the Bulls back line so it just goes to show you he has a lot of talent, I also think Kriel is the very obvious fullback choice for you guys going forward, he's only 21 and doing more than any of his predecessors (Kirchner, Visser, Blommetjies) have done.
The biggest negative for me was Spies, honestly the only strong part of his game was his line-out jumping, he did nothing as a ball carrier, didn't tackle well and in general didn't look up to it. The bulls could use another ball carrier as the only one consistently making ground in the forward pack was du Plessis, Spies just doesn't do enough for me.

All in all a good performance.
Side note, Dagg was back to his best.

 

[Rugga-lad]

Really good win by the Bulls. They really got stuck in and worked hard for the win.

 

[MotherRucker1]

Well done done Bulls, sounds like a deserved win, though I still haven't seen the match. It sounds like the same problem some other Kiwi teams have at times; inability to hold the ball for long periods of time and frantic offloads being unsuccessful. Although I also read this when I woke up:

"McCaw was penalised by referee Angus Gardner for contesting a high ball in the air because his body brushed an opponent when his eyes were locked on the ball"

Sounds like Gardner had a one on one date with his whistle. But I'm not too worried. I have no doubt the Bulls were the better side. We simply don't look like a championship outfit at this stage, but I am confident we can bounce back to beat the Sharks next week if we work on the discipline, amongst other things.

 

[Bull]

McCaw more than just brushed the player in the air, it was worth the penalty but nothing more in it.

Really surprised at how good the Bulls scramble defense was. Apart from Spies the loose trio performed pretty good, Odendaal was very good and I thought he deserved man of the match instead of Pollard.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Jonathon Kaplan says my Crusaders cheat at scrum time ... I'm shocked that front rows cheat ... take it from me, the Saders don't ... and I only need one eye to see that

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...arks-controversy-over-illegal-crusaders-scrum

Well

Your front row were caught out in this game. As soon as Crockett came on, there were problems at scrum time. I want to commend the Ref, Angus Gardner. I thought he did very good job in this match, in all facets. And to have such a performance after the Sharks vs Chiefs game, is something to be admired.

As for the game, I am a very happy fellow. Jan Serfontein and Arno Botha was pulled from the matchday 23 early on Saturday with minor injuries, and the guys who took their place did a great job.

Hanro Liebenberg, for a 19-year old Flanker, he looked very experienced and calm. Made some great tackles, and had a bunch of strong carries.

Burger Odendaal did just as I expected he would. This guy is such a promising talent. He does something very few South African inside centers do, and that is run into gaps and pass.

Spies was poor, and I wouldn't mind dropping him for the next game to let Botha play at 8 and give Liebenberg another run at 7.