CAPE TOWN - With just over 30 minutes gone in the match, Bulls wing Kurt-Lee Arendse injected some serious pace to cut the Stormers’ defensive line to shreds.
Arendse quickly found centre Stedman Gans on his inside but the No 13 was brought down by Damian Willemse, although he maintained his composure, and was able to ride the tackle and pop the ball up from the ground for a flying Ivan van Zyl to score.
It may seem like a simple skill but it’s not something that was prevalent in South African rugby previously.
The “traditional” local style has been to dominate with the forwards, and win penalties to either kick at goal or set up line-outs for a maul.
Backs, in particular, are not encouraged to take risks and have to play within a system that they dare not move outside of.
That led to the restriction of players such as Gio Aplon and Cheslin Kolbe in the past. Both men were not allowed to express themselves fully at the Stormers, and it affected their chances of Springbok selection as well.
In fact, Kolbe had to go to France to prove to Rassie Erasmus that he was good enough for Test rugby.
But the freedom Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi were given by Erasmus at last year’s Rugby World Cup may have opened the doors for other similar types of players to be given the licence to thrill.
And the Sevens flavour brought by former Blitzboks wizards Arendse, Gans and Cornal Hendricks has added a new dynamic to the Bulls attack.
Attacking play is about so much more than just spreading the ball wide to the wings and that absurd phrase dished out by some pundits and coaches: “You must earn the right to go wide/attack etc.”
It is about identifying space, good decision-making, timing, and of course skill, and those are traits that can be ingrained in the sevens set-up.
There is no place to hide when you have just six teammates to help you on a full-sized rugby pitch, and that is why the likes of Arendse,
Gans and Hendricks are lethal in that respect.
Arendse is the out-and-out speedster who can blitz an opponent on the outside in a one-on-one battle, cut inside to leave the defence scrambling, drift wide for a long pass – or even chase up-and-unders.
Gans looks like he has extra time on the ball. He has a wonderful passing repertoire and a real feel for the game, but his best trick is his side-step. His quick feet that left Sharks No 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe on his back at Loftus Versfeld was a moment to savour, and he is also able to create space out wide.
Hendricks plays almost like a sevens forward in the Bulls backline. He is direct and takes on the defence with ball-in-hand, and is not shy of taking contact.
But even though he left the Blitzboks scene a long time ago, those inherent skills are still present as he is able to evade tacklers and get over the advantage line.
All three don’t take a backward step on defence either – something which was problematic for many previous South African speedsters or playmakers.
So it’s not surprising that the
Bulls are on top of the Super Rugby Unlocked standings while they enjoy their bye week. They have scored the most tries (18), although they’ve played one more match than the Lions, who have the second-most touchdowns (15).
Gans tops the individual try-scorers’ list with five, and is joint-fifth with five clean breaks; Hendricks is joint-fourth with 11 defenders beaten, and has the joint sixth-most carries (29, with Bulls flank Marco van Staden second on 39 and fullback David Kriel fourth with 32); and Kriel has made the most metres with 258.
@ashfakmohamed