After previewing The Blues and The Brumbies, I now move onto the ever so optimistic Bulls side, who are looking for a third consecutive Super Rugby title…
This Season
After claiming the Super 14 title for a second season in a row with flying colours, can the South African based side make it three in a row in the newly set up Super 15? The Bulls are just packed with Rugby superstars, and in there warm up matches they have basically been fantastic, as they go into next week’s opening fixture against the Lions in very good shape. The Bulls are just a superior outfit, but some sides will be looking to take that title away from them; however with a whole host of South African stars to choose at lock, Wynand Olivier and Jaco Pretorius at centre and young winger Gerhard Van Den Heever all on show, nobody will write a third straight title for the Bulls as completely off.
Frans Ludeke has done a fantastic job so far, and the fans in Pretoria will yet again be optimistic, as the Loftus Versfeld Stadium will most likely be sold out this season with the first home game, being against the Highlanders in Week 3. The Bulls will have it all to do this season, can they finish top again and win the finals, who knows?
Key Players
Even though I haven’t mentioned him yet, Scrum-Half Fourie Du Preez along with a handful of locks will be the key players for the Bulls again this season. Du Preez is a class above the rest, and is rightfully rated as one of the best scrum-halfs in World Rugby, this will be his ninth year with the current Super Rugby holders, and yet again all eyes will be on Du Preez as no doubt fans will flock in to see such a great performer. Considering he has been sidelined for eight months, Fourie is a player who can slip right back into the mix with a drop of a hat.
At Lock this is where the Bulls pose a real threat, looking at the names such as Matfield, Botha, Kruger, Van Der Merwe and Rossouw no doubt about it that all those players deserve a starting place. Matfield poses a real threat in the line out, and is one of the best players South Africa have, same applies to Bakkies Botha one of the most toughest locks to play against him and Matfield will mostly likely destroy every opponent which comes in their way. The pairing of Juandre Kruger and Flip Van Der Merwe are also emerging talents, both at 25 both of these locks are future stars of South African Rugby.
Overall Thoughts
The Bulls are literally a mind blowing force, and you can bet that they will be amongst the top two in the South African conference. The locks pose such a threat, and with Du Preez at scrum-half it’s no wonder that the Bulls have claimed two Super Rugby titles on the trot. Let alone going into detail on the likes of Pierre Spies, Morne Steyn, Wynand Olivier, Gerhard Van Den Heever and Zane Kirchner the squad is just so talented.