Bulls’ Argentinian thrashing down to poor attitude, says Mitchell

The Bulls were on the receiving end of a 54-24 lashing at the hands of the Jaguares in Buenos Aires early Sunday morning and coach John Mitchell pinned the blame squarely on the attitude of his side.

“Our decision-making was pretty average early on, but we managed to recover and regroup and we would have gone ahead midway through the first half if Thembelani Bholi hadn’t knocked on over the tryline. But the side’s ability to adapt was poor and we were let down up front, in my view.

“There were no positives to dwell on and it was down to attitude, which led to handling errors, and the defence was not acceptable either. What was really disappointing was that it was the first time that we have shown softness. We need to learn to get over these setbacks quickly,” a candid Mitchell said on Sunday.

While the Jaguares cemented their playoff hopes with an impressive display that lifts them into seventh place overall and second in the South African Conference, seven points behind the Lions but with a game in hand, the Bulls are languishing at the bottom of the group standings with the Stormers, four points behind the Sharks and five adrift of the Jaguares.

The Jaguares dominated all facets of the play and were good value for their seven-tries-to-three win.

The Bulls conceded a soft try down the blindside after the halftime hooter to go 20-10 down at the break, with the defence then crumbling as the Jaguares scored 34 points in the second half.

Manie Libbok, in his first appearance in the number 10 jersey, Jesse Kriel and Warrick Gelant all troubled the Jaguares defence, but the luxury of front-foot ball was rare as the home side’s pack dominated.

Right wing Bautista Delguy scored twice for the Argentinians, while flank Marcos Kremer had a terrific game carrying the ball and scored a crucial try early in the second half.

“We are still in the fight but we’re probably aiming for second now in the Conference. We still control our own destiny and this conference is not over yet. At the end of the day, it is up to us to get it right next week,” Mitchell said.

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