Early days but Bulls’ conditioning suggests a bright future

When South African teams have played their New Zealand counterparts in the Super Rugby the past few seasons, many critics have noted the gulf in skills between the sides.

Yet if there’s one thing Bulls coach John Mitchell is pleased about after his side’s momentous 21-19 win over the Hurricanes at Loftus this weekend it was their fitness.

Indeed, much of South Africa’s woes against New Zealand sides have stemmed from inferior conditioning before the Lions became the pioneers in closing the gap.

Now, it seems, the Bulls are starting that process too.

“We lasted longer than the Hurricanes,” said Mitchell.

“That was important. We’re starting to quash that perception now that we can’t keep up. We’ve set up a really good foundation, a good way of understanding that what we focused on in the pre-season was the right things to concentrate on.”

No-one illustrated the Bulls’ newfound ability to last the full 80 minutes at maximum intensity than the dynamic pair of Lood de Jager and RG Snyman.

The two locks combined outstandingly and never let up.

“They were a really good combination on the day,” said Mitchell.

“They made some good inroads off (scrumhalf Andre Warner’s) service. They’re quite quick and they’re quite skillful. They had to go the full distance in this game, which is quite commendable.”

While the Bulls showed versatility by delivering some sparkling attacking play as well as doggedly keeping the Canes out in the second half, their coach doesn’t want to get overly excited just yet.

“We’re going to have our bad days as well. That’s the nature of the game. But if we just put our feet on the ground, get back into our work and make sure we give enough attention to getting better and never quite being satisfied, we’ll be fine,” said Mitchell.