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'It was just ridiculous ... the stupidity of the players'
Bulls head coach Pote Human has blasted his players after ill-discipline proved costly in his sides 22-20 loss to the Jaguares, labelling the performance ‘ridiculous’.
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The Bulls received two yellow cards to play with 13-men allowing the Jaguares to score two tries through Domingo Miotti in the final 10 minutes to come back from 20-10 down to steal the win in Pretoria.
“You can’t play a team like with 14 guys and then 13 at the end,” Human said to media during the post-match press conference.
“It was just ridiculous … the stupidity of the players.
“I really thought we had them, and we let it slip.”
The major setback for the Bulls handed the Sharks the number one spot in the conference, with both sides holding a 4-3 record but the Sharks ahead on bonus points.
The Bulls head coach sentiment was shared by many in South Africa who were unimpressed by the Bulls second-half fade out.
The only flexibility is in my wrist as I’m wripping my hair out watching this. I’m really speechless. What do these guys do in the week? Certainly not working on their skills. #BULvJAG
— andre van der merwe (@andrevdmerwe1) April 6, 2019
Hard to blame anyone but the Bulls themselves for that defeat. Agaba's card was poor, but Van Vuurens was criminal. They handed the game to the Jaguares. Simple as that. #BULvJAG
— Brenden Nel (@Brendennel) April 6, 2019
Bulls are fading badly here…
When you lose the aerial contest you have to work extra hard to get the defence into position… very little hustle or communication there
Credit to Jaguares for finishing.#BULvJAG
— Jon Cardinelli (@jon_cardinelli) April 6, 2019
The Jaguares were accused of getting away with forward passes in the lead-up to their two tries, but aside from that, the Bulls only have themselves to blame.
“That’s rugby. I thought there were two forward passes, but they got away it,” Human claimed.
“Good luck to them.”
A late double from debutant Domingo Miotti has helped the @JaguaresARG snatch victory in Pretoria. #BULvJAG #SuperRugby pic.twitter.com/t1ZYTFdykR
— RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) April 6, 2019
The Bulls missing the likes of Springboks Handre Pollard and Jesse Kriel due to the World Cup resting protocol, put the visitors under early pressure when a kick by Divan Rossouw got the team inside the Jaguares’ 22 for the line-out.
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The Jaguares’ discipline certainly was a key factor which Libbok had no problem exploiting. The stand-in flyhalf kept the scoreboard ticking and spearheaded the Bulls to a 9-0 lead with the boot.
Nonetheless, despite their discipline woes, the visitors proved to be lethal on attack and finally broke their duck thanks to some great individual work by Pablo Matera. The flank bumped off numerous defenders and dived over the chalk for the five-pointer. Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias added the extras to narrow the deficit to just two points.
The Bulls with 64 percent possession, had two try-scoring opportunities just before the break however their first attempt was held up while a knock-on diminished the second one.
The host employed a different tactic in the second half, opting to spread the ball which paid off when Burger Odedaal made a lethal break before sending Jade Stighling over the line for the Bulls’ first try of the match.
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Libbok added two more penalties and Iglesias one as the Bulls further their lead to 20-10 before throwing the game away and allowing the Jaguares to record their first ever win in Pretoria over the Bulls.
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