On a night when it seemed everything was in their favour, the Vodacom Bulls produced a forgettable performance to go down 26-22 against Munster in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship match in Limerick on Saturday.
To say the scoreline flattered the Bulls would be a massive understatement. Coming off a 40 point win over Zebre and into a game against a Munster side beset with injuries, off-field issues and the departure of their CEO under a cloud, everything was in their favour to get their second win in as many games on tour.
But what transpired was a performance to be forgotten. A Bulls side that could not exit their own red zone, who made countless errors and looked both rattled and under pressure all night was nowhere near what they needed to be to pull off a win in Ireland.
The fact they came within four points is because Munster, with the plethora of possession and territory they had, were extremely poor themselves. The amount of points that the Irish side left on the park was criminal, and a better side with that sort of possession and 22 metre entries would have put the Bulls away by 50.
DEFENSIVE GAME WAS POSITIVE
The only positive was their defensive game. On the receiving end of a battering of bodies the entire night the Bulls held firm for most of the night. That they conceded only four tries was a testament to the way they put their bodies on the line.
But while they defended exceptionally well - missing only 13 tackles in a game they had just over 40 per cent possession - their game management needs a lot of work if they finally want to win the URC after four appearances in the five finals so far.
Too many times the wrong option was taken, and too many times - often under pressure - the Bulls tried to run themselves out of trouble. Every time seemed the same: some hope, a bit of width and then a mistake that kept them pinned in their own 22.
That they started the game in their own 22 for the first eight minutes was perhaps expected. Playing away from home can always be tough. But for most of the second half the side defended and couldn’t exit, and even when they did, they struggled to not get in their own way with the way they played.
JACOBS GAMBLE WAS A FAILURE
Not to single out players, as it was a poor performance all around, but the experiment with Stravino Jacobs was a failure. The winger has never been a good passer, and there have been reasons other coaches have not played him at 12.
But Ackermann’s gamble never paid off. It may sound unfair, but Jacobs was good on defence, but on attack he started by tackling a player without the ball, gifting a penalty to Munster. There were knock-ons, forward passes and missed opportunities, and it ended badly as he seemed to tackle himself, stepping awkwardly and injuring his knee, forcing a replacement with no 12 on the bench.
Sebastian de Klerk moved to the midfield, but was lucky as an errant arm in the second half gave a deliberate knock on penalty when Munster were on attack. It could easily have been a yellow card.
COETZEE, RUDOLPH, LOCKS STOOD OUT
It is hard to find positives from the performance, except for the performances of captain Marcell Coetzee and Jeandre Rudolph, as well as the lock pairing of Ruan Vermaak and Rynhardt Ludwig. All four played their hearts out.
But rugby games may be won on individual brilliance at times, but not on this night. To look at the attacking stats you would think the Bulls would have been on the right side of the scoreline. 28 defenders beaten to 13, five clean breaks to three and winning the metres gained battle. But stats never tell the whole story.
In among them was a charge-down try, a try for Munster that started with a terrible clearance kick, a kick pass and some individual brilliance. For Munster that brilliance came in 20-year old flyhalf Charlie O’Shea, whose debut for the Irish team was sheer magic. Everything he touched seem to turn to gold - or Limerick green, so to speak.
And in that magic run for O’Shea came a few demons for the Bulls to rear their heads, some old wounds that were re-opened and old doubts on players that will be debated the week to come.
Thankfully for the Bulls their Boks will be back this week. They need them back. Even without Wilco Louw, who will leave a massive hole in his absence, the Bulls can only be a better scrum when the Boks return.
BULLS SCRUM IS SCARING NOBODY
While they only lost one scrum on the night, too often the props that remain are simply on damage control, and not the dominance the Bulls have been used to for the past few years. Young hooker Juan Else was good in the loose, but as a unit, this Bulls scrum is scaring nobody.
The real travesty of this game though was simply that if the Bulls were just a little better, they could have taken the game with ease.
But their own demons got the better of them, and they never looked like winning, especially in the second half.
Even when they finally got out of their 22, they scored with their first entry into the Munster 22 - Ruan Vermaak driving over from close range after a lineout drive did the damage.
But they were quickly on the back foot, and Munster didn’t give them a second get-out-of-jail card - O’Shea sent a cross kick for winger Diarmuid Kilgallen to snatch out of the air and score.
Munster then went ahead from a charge down - Curwin Bosch trying a bullet kick and taking too long, being stopped and then O’Shea winning the race with Zak Burger to score the try. It was a body blow that hurt the Bulls.
To their credit they came back at Munster. A solid scrum launched a backline move that saw Thaakir Abrahams cut inside to beat two and then find runners that pounded the defence. Eventually it was Klopper who went over from close range to level the scores before the break.
But if the Bulls thought they would have the better of the second half, it was far from it. Bosch did put them ahead briefly with a penalty five minutes into the second stanza, but it was never going to be enough.
POOR CLEARANCE
A terrible clearance kick from Abrahams, down the throat of the Munster winger, launched an attack that put the Bulls on the back foot. Two penalties later and reeling to try and stay in the game, it was O’Shea who popped up on the wing to score in the corner.
That put Munster ahead and they kept the Bulls pinned, helped by some poor clearances from the Bulls and mistakes in trying to run their way out of trouble. Eventually the break came, and Alex Kendellan scored the crucial try.
The Bulls managed to pull one back after a beauty of a run down the touchline by Rudolph, and it gave them hope.
But they were never good enough on the night to steal it in the end, and they will return to South Africa disappointed, and knowing they were their own worst enemies.
Scorers
Munster - tries: Charlie O’Shea (2), Diarmuid Kilgallen, Alex Kendellen. Conversions: O’Shea (3).
Vodacom Bulls - tries: Ruan Vermaak, Francois Klopper, Jeandre Rudolph. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (2). Penalty: Bosch.