First for the disappointment of the Bulls. They were simply awful for the demands of the occasion at Croke Park in Dublin. There was such hype, but on the night they looked more hopeless than hopeful.
It was an unfortunate end to a courageous and fabulous second half of their United Rugby Championship (URC) season. But it was an end that will continue to ask questions of their mental fortitude and ability to win finals.
This is now the fourth finals’ defeat in the league’s five-year history.
Bulls coach Johan Ackermann will be as perplexed as the supporters by his players’ inability to be disciplined and accurate. Mostly, he will be left wondering why his big-name players chose Friday night in Dublin to turn the potential of delight into a fearless paralysis.
Many of the Bulls players will be involved with the Springboks this season, and you can be guaranteed that you, like me and the Bulls coaches, will ask where these superstars were on that night in Dublin.
Humbled and humiliated
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus will be the beneficiary of the Bulls’ no-show because he will inherit a group of players humbled and humiliated by their failure to come good in Dublin.
There won’t be any issues with ego or any sort of false positives of believing their own hype because of dethroning Leinster.
The Irish club, back-to-back title winners, were a class above the Bulls in approach, conviction, tempo and accuracy. The final was over by the 25th minute with Leinster 22-0 ahead.
Do New Zealand have the forwards and the set piece to trouble the Springboks and bring their backs into play? I think they do, and there’s always the reminder of Australia’s 38 unanswered points against South Africa at Ellis Park last season
The Bulls had no answer to the tempo and intensity at which Leinster played, which will put all of South Africa on alert for the demands of the All Blacks in the country in a few months.
Dave Rennie’s All Blacks squad, to be announced tomorrow, is likely to include many of the Hurricanes Super Rugby Pacific title winners. And tempo is the definition of how the Hurricanes played this season and the style with which they destroyed every team in the play-offs.
Record-breaking final
The Canes crushed the Chiefs 60-5 in a record-breaking final in Wellington, New Zealand. It completed the most memorable home play-off series, beating the Brumbies 66-12 in the quarterfinals and the Blues 57-21 in the semifinals.
They scored 28 tries across the three play-off matches, with nine coming in the final against the Chiefs.
Whether the Hurricanes’ style of play translates into the All Blacks reclaiming the No 1 world ranking and their status as the world’s best will only be answered during the four Tests against the world champion Springboks.
But to dismiss the Hurricanes title win as lacking in quality because of the weaker nature of Super Rugby Pacific would be silly. They are a team packed with fantastic players and have found a coach in Scotland’s Clarke Laidlaw, who aligned a brand of rugby to his squad.
The title win was the first in a decade for the Hurricanes. While the gap between the Canes and the rest has been huge this season, it’s obvious Rennie won’t lack talent when selecting his first squad.
The midfield glue
Big wingers are back in New Zealand’s Super Rugby pecking order, and the Hurricanes wing duo of Fehi Fineanganofo and Josh Moorby finished the season with 34 tries (17 each).
Jordie Barrett, captain of the Hurricanes, has been the midfield glue, and Ruben Love, sensational in the final, should start at No 10 against France in a fortnight.
Do New Zealand have the forwards and the set piece to trouble the Springboks and bring their backs into play? I think they do, and there’s always the reminder of Australia’s 38 unanswered points against South Africa at Ellis Park last season.
Rennie’s All Blacks are an unknown, and that makes for the trickiest of international seasons for the Boks. But the intrigue also adds to the seduction and lure of the All Blacks’ first tour to South Africa in 30 years.
The manner of the Hurricanes’ title win has Kiwis buzzing, and rightly so. By contrast, the manner of the Bulls’ defeat will bemuse South Africans.
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