Talking points from the past weekend’s Currie Cup action

Any South African rugby coach can pick youngsters, something invariably demanded by the average supporter.

But the real trick is being a coach that can still keep picking them despite poor results, long after those fans have lost patience.

Swys de Bruin and John Mitchell, mentors of the Lions and Blue Bulls respectively, were rewarded this past weekend with handsome victories that keep their semifinal hopes very much alive.

Also read: WATCH: WP coach uses the ‘R-word’ to describe Ellis Park showing

Meanwhile, Western Province and the Pumas will be kicking themselves for defeats they should’ve been expecting to avoid.

Here are the main talking points from the weekend’s action.

The Bulls’ attacking revolution suddenly looks mouthwatering 

For years now, we’ve heard that the Bulls are going to change their ways and play a more exciting brand of rugby.

It’s predictably taken a while to launch but the appointment of John Mitchell now creates the feeling that it’s really going to become a reality.

The men from Loftus haven’t struggled to score points in this year’s campaign but they also haven’t been balanced enough to limit the points they concede.

To his credit, Mitchell hasn’t lost faith once and his troops repaid him handsomely in Bloemfontein.

With a rampant, young backline playing with infectious confidence, the Bulls showed what a scary proposition they can become if they continue to improve.

Thriller in the Lowveld bolsters the European bid

According to reports, Saru are in advanced negotiations to include two new franchises in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

Unsurprisingly, two teams in contention are the Pumas and Griquas.

Both teams are known for their compact organisational skills in terms of administration and they don’t do badly on the field of play too.

Regardless of the Pumas throwing away a realistic chance of reaching the semis, the 38-35 scoreline did both sides’ causes no harm.

This was a thrilling game from start to finish and a perfect illustration of how competitive these two sides have been in the campaign.

South African rugby needs this to continue.

Is Big Vic finally making his mark?

Victor Matfield never said he’s going to wave a magic wand after being appointed the Lions forwards coach for the Currie Cup.

In fact, he’s maintained he’s just as inexperienced as the rookies he’s coaching.

The Lions set-pieces – their line-outs and scrums – haven’t consistently been up to scratch in this campaign.

That could be down to the players’ inexperience but also down to Matfield’s own road towards developing his own coaching blueprint.

Happily, Sunday’s performance showed definite signs of improvement.

The Lions were particularly effective in the line-outs  – Matfield’s speciality – and even managed to disrupt Western Province to such an extent that they poached two throws as well.

We all know by now how Province coach John Dobson felt about that…