A season on the brink pivoted in southern France on Friday night, as the Vodacom Bulls finally remembered who they are, writes MARK KEOHANE.
Writing for the Sunday Times, Keohane says the Bulls’ 26-24 comeback win against Pau at the Stade du Hameau snapped a seven-match losing streak and reignited belief in a squad battered by form, criticism and recent humiliation.
Trailing 24-12 against a side sitting second on the French Top 14 log, the Bulls found character in the final 10 minutes and refused to fold in one of Europe’s most unforgiving venues.
Keohane notes that only a week earlier the Bulls had been “humiliated in Pretoria” after conceding 61 points to Bristol, a result that often “breaks teams, fractures belief and accelerates coaching obituaries”. In Pau, however, belief replaced fear, sparked by youth and finished by experience.
The turning point came through SA U20 world champion winger Cheswill Jooste, whose try Keohane describes as “outrageous quality”.
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Handré Pollard’s conversion shifted momentum and reminded everyone why, as Keohane writes, “when the big kicks need to be converted, he is the master off the kicking tee”.
The Bulls’ bench, long criticised, finally delivered. Ruan Nortje and Marco van Staden brought control and aggression, while Jeandre Rudolph embodied the fight.
“Rudolph, week after week, even as the Bulls stumbled, has been their most consistent carrier,” Keohane writes, praising his decisive breakdown steal to seal the win.
MORE: Ackers hails Bulls’ character after gritty Pau win
For Johan Ackermann, the victory offers belief rather than comfort. The challenge now is backing it up in Scotland, but in Pau the Bulls stopped apologising and showed they still carry the DNA to contend.
Photo: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
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