There was a time when Loftus Versfeld was seen as a fortress, and named as such to send shockwaves into the hearts of opposition sides.
In fact, in the first two seasons of European action the Vodacom Bulls hardly lost a game at their fortress, and all the talk was of altitude.
But after Saturday’s high-scoring 61-49 loss to the Bristol Bears - a result that virtually ended the Bulls run in the pool rounds of the Investec Champions Cup, Loftus may not even be seen as a factor anymore.
The Bulls conspired to put together the worst defensive performance in arguably three decades of professional rugby, as they conceded a try in two minutes, a bonus point in 15 and six tries in the first half before coming back in the second half to try and make a high-scoring scoreline look respectable.
However, make no mistake, the Bulls were always playing second fiddle in this game, and despite fielding 10 Springboks - 7 in their much-vaunted pack - they looked like a second tier team that had no answer to Bristol’s hard-running style.
This wasn’t a David versus Goliath scenario. The Bulls had beaten Bristol a few seasons back in England with some ease. And while the Bears sit 4th in the English Premiership and in some excellent form, they certainly aren’t the superhuman side the Bulls made them look to be.
The official ECPR stats say the Bulls made 110 tackles in the game at a 66 per cent success rate. A simple math equation means they attempted 166 tackles in total then - so that makes it 56 tackles missed in 80 minutes.
Even if those stats are slightly off - and they don’t seem to be - there is nothing less than exceptionally bad to describe the defensive performance. Consider the Bulls are the team playing at altitude, against opposition that travelled from sub-zero temperatures. What transpired seemed to be the other way around.
Bigger than this one game, and these terrible defensive stats however, lies a deeper question. The Bulls have lost seven games in a row now. Coach Johan Ackermann is under exceptional pressure, and is struggling to turn things around.
A week ago you would have thought they came close against the Stormers. Now Bulls fans won’t be as sure. The Bulls fired Jake White who took them to two finals in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, but lost the change room to a player revolt. They fired the two assistant coaches before Christmas and nothing has changed.
High(veld) five 🖐️
— Bristol Bears 🐻 (@BristolBears) January 10, 2026
That was HUGE 🤯#BULvBRI | #BristolBears pic.twitter.com/LRSUwT4GOg
They may well fire Jean Tiedt, the defence coach in the aftermath of this result, but it is worth remembering he was White’s defensive coach that took them to the final, and defensive systems don’t go south overnight.
Against Bristol it wouldn’t have been overly bizarre to think a pack that had seven Springboks in their ranks would have tried to impose themselves physically and dominate the game up front. But it never happened that way.
Benhard Janse van Rensburg scored after two minutes, and seven minutes later the Bulls were 21-0 down. Their defenders looked static as if they were stuck at turnstiles outside Loftus and someone had pushed in front of them. They never had a chance.
If this was a one-off, it could have been excused. But this is a season where the Bulls have leaked points at will. Defence has been an afterthought. Reputations have been shattered. Springboks are only Springboks, after all, if they play as if they deserve the jersey. On too many occasions this statement was as far from the truth as it could be.
When the final whistle went, the Bulls had conceded nine tries. Add that to the seven conceded against Bordeaux-Begles in Round one, and the eight against Northampton in Round two and the stats look dismal.
They did score seven tries on the day themselves, and normally the big-scoring loss would not have been seen as a tragedy. But conceding a big score at Loftus is not an anomaly anymore. This is where the Bulls are at the moment.
It is worth noting that Jeandre Rudolph again starred among the bevy of Springboks in the pack. While Rudolph is enjoying his time at the Bulls and has always been known as a workhorse, there is a thought that wonders if he has improved his game as much or if the Boks around him have dropped theirs? It is a discussion worth having in team ranks.
The senior players stand front and centre of the problems. The Boks that are expected to lead from the front were part of the problem. Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux both gave away intercept tries with the simplest of passes. To say the Bulls were their own worst enemies is a massive understatement.
In the end the tries they scored meant little in the wider context of the game. While they kept pace, at a distance, to be that ever frustrating team that always feels they have a chance without accepting they never had any, it will only fuel the frustration in the fan ranks even further.
The worst part of this all is that if their defence was good enough - or even a passing mark - they could have won this game. As they could have against Bordeaux and on several other occasions this season.
But defence is an attitude, as they say. And conceding 24 tries in three matches in the world’s toughest competition unfortunately means a side is just not at the level needed to succeed in a competition that shows no mercy.
The Bulls found that out the hard way on home soil once again. And they only have themselves to blame.
Scorers
Vodacom Bulls - tries: Jeandre Rudolph, Stravino Jacobs (2), Penalty Try, David Kriel, Sebastian de Klerk, Willie le Roux. Conversions: Handre Pollard (6).
Bristol Bears - tries: Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Max Lahiff, Noah Heward (3), Kalaveit Ravouvou (2), Pedro Rubiolo. Conversions: Tom Jordan (8)