Naka: ‘Bulls the best in world’
31 Oct 2009
Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske says the Bulls are the best provincial side in world rugby.
And it’s difficult to argue with him. They disposed of the southern hemisphere’s finest in 2009 to claim their second Super Rugby title in three years, and capped a memorable season with victory in the Currie Cup final at Loftus on Saturday.
‘They’re the best in the world and they have the record to prove it,’ Drotske told keo.co.za. ‘They’ve been involved in most Currie Cup finals since 2004 and now they’ve won two Super 14 titles and a Currie Cup. So, yes, they are the best in the world.’
Drotske was proud of the manner in which his side responded to falling 24-0 behind, but added that giving the Bulls a lead as substantial as that meant they were fighting a battle they were always likely to lose.
‘You can’t give a side of that calibre a 24-point lead, especially not at Loftus,’ he said. ‘It’s happened in the past against other sides, then for some reason when we’re down and the pressure is off the guys start to attack in the way I hoped they would from the start. I can’t explain that, and if I could it wouldn’t be happening as often as it does.
‘I’m proud of the character they showed, but really, we let in a couple of soft tries and we never should have got ourselves into that situation.’
Drotske identified their inability to boss the breakdown, a facet of play they were expected to dominate, as being decisive to the outcome.
‘We lost six or seven breakdowns. That’s a lot in a final and if you’re wanting to succeed you just can’t lose that many,’ he explained. ‘They were very good there, and committed a lot of players to the rucks, which we didn’t deal with well.’
Drotske said having re-established themselves as a force on the domestic scene, they would now focus on improving their performances at Super Rugby level.
‘We’ll take confidence into the 2010 tournament,’ he said. ‘We have a good draw with our first six matches in Bloemfontein, and we have to capitalise on that.
‘We’ve secured all our key players, except Richardt Strauss, whose going to Ireland, and Jacques-Louis Potgieter [Bulls] for next year. We’re also losing Fabien [Juries] to Western Province, but he wouldn’t have featured as a starting player. So that’s encouraging from our perspective.
‘This loss is very disappointing but we have to pick ourselves up and look to the future.’
By Ryan Vrede, at Loftus
21 Comments
31 Oct 2009, 21:58 pm
Truth speaking Dragons
31 Oct 2009, 21:58 pm
yip, they probably are.
31 Oct 2009, 22:00 pm
BIG call ! They haven’t played Leicester Tigers yet !
31 Oct 2009, 22:02 pm
suck up
31 Oct 2009, 22:02 pm
Naka would do well to purchase Francois Brummer.
He will now be a 4th choice at the Bulls. He is young and if given the generalship at Bloem, will become great.
31 Oct 2009, 22:03 pm
‘We’ve secured all our key players, except Richardt Strauss, whose going to Ireland, and Jacques-Louis Potgieter [Bulls] for next year.’
So Brussow stays?
31 Oct 2009, 22:22 pm
brummer should move. then become good and move back
31 Oct 2009, 22:30 pm
Fourie du Preez and Morne Steyn.
Francois Hougaard and Brummer. The present and the future.
31 Oct 2009, 23:07 pm
I wish FS could hold onto their stars and not lose them to other provinces’ benches
Would be good for SA
Next year might be best year yet for SA teams in S14:
Sharks – always competitive
Bulls – will be same team as this year but with added extras
WP – looks promising
FS – if they play like the last few weeks, will beat a lot of teams
Lions – things are happening there
can’t wait
1 Nov 2009, 00:58 am
I am not sure whether they are the best in the whole world. Of course, they are the best in the SH although we’ll never know how they do against the best and in-form NH clubs.
1 Nov 2009, 01:01 am
Anyway, this year has been a sensational for the Bulls and South Africa. The Boks – World cup holders, now Tri Nations champions and Lion tamers, The Bulls (core of the Boks) – S14 champions, and Blue Bulls (core of the Bulls) – Currie cup champions.
Very well done!
1 Nov 2009, 01:40 am
#10 Nils: ‘although we’ll never know how they do against the best and in-form NH clubs.’
we’ll never know but who do you think could beat them at the moment? Perpignan maybe…? Saracens?
1 Nov 2009, 03:20 am
#3 rugbygenius:
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Trust me, if you think what the Blue Bulle did to the Chiefs in the final was a thumping, imagine what they’d do to the soft NH players.
1 Nov 2009, 03:23 am
Guys please, there’s a reason why a lot of SH players who are on their last legs go and play in the Magners or HC… The quality just isn’t there. Please guys, lets put it this way, if you tied one arm of every Bulls player behind their back they would still beat the best the NH has to offer by about 20 points.
1 Nov 2009, 03:55 am
#14 Kobus Kitty: your prediction for the France/SA game?
1 Nov 2009, 04:06 am
#15 Big Hit:
Please Big Hit, I have many respects for France. They will provide the biggest challenge on tour or get smacked… so unpredictable are these guys, Boks by 5 though.
1 Nov 2009, 05:22 am
#16 Kobus Kitty: yeah it’s a tough one to call, Boks in a tight win I think.
1 Nov 2009, 10:30 am
#12 Big Hit: It’s hard to say. Perhaps Toulouse, Stade when they play like they should. Maybe Perpignan (if we forget that game in Italy) or Biarritz (when on fire). Maybe Saracens. Maybe Opreys.
It’s really hard to say. It also depends where to play, in Pretoria Bulls are undisputed favourites, in Europe (especially in the cold rain) I do not think they are that good.
1 Nov 2009, 17:27 pm
Bulls have 15 players in the touring squad
Sharks have 9, The other have only a few, Bulls are the best, and they have team talks in Afrikaans
2 Nov 2009, 08:20 am
Morning ladies and Gentlemen
To all the Bulls supporters congratulations !!! Well done and well deserved. You were the better team on the day. You are worthy champs.
Fre State were in it, but i dont think they ever had that killer instinct. I kept waiting for the match to really get desperate, and it never did (either way). When Fre State were 6 down, they should have gone into over drive, but they never did. Experience i guess. Also silly penalties will always cost us. JP joubert and Richardt should each get a klap.
Was excellent to see the fighting spirit though. Free State did me proud !!
Once again, well done Bulls and your supporters. Loftus was awesome, and as usual, i was entertained, and treated really well.
2 Nov 2009, 08:57 am
Saturday was the first time I applauded the Bulls without a tinge of player hating and regret. That saying about ‘maak die bulle almal bokke’ is as true as it has ever been ( I don’t mean we should!). This team has come far, from being cellar-dwellers and bonus point-givers in the S14 and CC to being one of the most lethal team in the history of the game. The great Crusaders teams of the past won’t match up with this crew simply because then Saffa players, mainly consisting of Noord Transylvanians, never believed that they could be the best. Looking good for South African rugby.
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