Vusi Voetsek: Give the Bulls a break; there’s too much rugby

The Bulls are struggling on all fronts and everyone is trying to figure out what’s wrong.

Maybe there’s nothing wrong with the Bulls; maybe the issue is that there is simply too much rugby.

In fact, not maybe, there is too much rugby. But what does one do?

SA Rugby decided to go north for the money and the easier travel schedule (which hasn’t worked out) and that has left the “Big Four” with almost too much to do, and the impossibility for the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers to be competitive on all fronts.

Three competitions

Coaches have to juggle players and their playing time and then, for some, the Springboks are also absent for a lot of the time, or being managed.

We forget how tricky and demanding the situation is for a team like the Bulls.

They, like the Lions, Sharks and Stormers, are playing in the United Rugby Championship, they have the Champions Cup (or Challenge Cup) to consider, and then there’s the Currie Cup. They’re all on at the same time.

There simply aren’t enough quality players to go round in one union for them to be competitive, and winning, all the time. It’s an unforgiving task and a huge ask.

The players are also being coached by different men a lot of the time, while one’s team-mates are also different from one week to the next.

With a structure and schedule like this, something’s got to give, and it looks like it’s the competitiveness right now.

How the local rugby bosses are going to get this little matter sorted out I don’t know. But it’s not right.

It’s no surprise the Currie Cup final was contested between two teams outside the “Big Four” last year in Griquas and the Pumas, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again this year.

Netherlands ODIs

Moving on.

I simply cannot get over the fact that the Proteas have to beat the Netherlands in two ODIs next weekend to qualify directly for the 50-overs World Cup later this year. Really!

We’re talking about a country that’s produced some of the best teams and players of the last 30 years.

Sure, CSA gave up the chance for the team to win some points (by forfeiting the Australia ODI series) because all the focus earlier this year was on the SA20, but still.

And even if the Proteas win their two games against the Netherlands, who beat them at the T20 World Cup last year to knock them out of the tournament, Sri Lanka must also lose to New Zealand for the Proteas to go through automatically. Otherwise it’s off to the qualifying tournament in Harare.

Heck, whatever happens, it’s going to be nail-biting stuff, especially if there’s some rain around Benoni for the SA-Netherlands matches and they can’t be completed, or if the Proteas choke, like they did at the T20 World Cup in Australia.

SA golfers

Finally, what the heck is going on with South Africa’s golfers. We’re a country that loves to shout and boast about the quality of the golfers we produce, but things are not looking too good right now.

Only one South African, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, teed off in this week’s World Match Play Championship in Texas. At 72, Bezuidenhout is SA’s highest ranked golfer in the world.

Yes, the new LIV Tour has messed with the rankings, but Louis Oosthuizen is 104th, Dylan Frittelli 173rd, Charl Schwartzel 201st and Branden Grace 218th in the world.

The only other two SA players in the top 100 besides Bezuidenhout are Dean Burmester (74th) and Thriston Lawrence (86th).

I wonder who’ll be our next Major champion? It doesn’t look like there will even be a challenge from these shores any time soon, and how sad is that?!