Share

Bulls shamed by thrashing

Cape Town - Blue Bulls coach Pine Pienaar is ashamed by their 62-23 thrashing at home to the Golden Lions and called the performance unacceptable.

After leading 23-20 early in the second half of their match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, the hosts conceded 42 points in a 30 minute period to suffer an almighty thrashing which left their supporters stunned.

While his young side is sure to learn some valuable lessons, Pienaar nevertheless insisted to it was not good enough for Currie Cup level.

"We are obviously disappointed and ashamed by the result," he told the Beeld website.

"Hopefully it's a massive lesson learnt by the players. We knew the Lions would be deadly if we gave them enough room to move in. We were under pressure at the breakdowns during the second half, but we actually played good rugby in the first half.

"The yellow card (to Morné Mellett in the 50th minute) cost us dearly and the Lions scored three tries in that period.

"The harder we tried, the more mistakes we made. However, it's not an excuse. It (the performance) was unacceptable. We feel sorry for the fans who came to watch, because we wanted to make them proud with a good performance," continued Pienaar.

It doesn't get any easier this week for the now bottom-of-the-log Bulls, as they travel to Durban to tackle the Sharks at Kings Park on Saturday.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1142 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
30% - 1327 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2026 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE