Mallett: Bulls were appalling, directionless

Cape Town - Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett heavily criticised the Bulls’ performance against the Crusaders this past weekend.

The men from Christchurch claimed their first win at Loftus Versfeld since 2008 when they thumped the Bulls 62-24 on Saturday.

The Crusaders ran in 10 tries in a one-sided encounter which saw them bag their 10th victory on the trot in the 2017 season.

Speaking in the SuperSport studio after the match, Mallett was not impressed by what he saw from the Bulls.

“'The Bulls' defence is appalling, their attacking is appalling and their logic is appalling. They kick at goal twice and then they kick for touch. They missed 35 tackles and failed to cover the field. And this was the worst Bulls scrum I’ve seen. You just can’t win games playing like that. They are poor and directionless at everything,” Mallett said.

“The Crusaders showed superior intelligence on defence and attack. They were fantastic. They played heads-up rugby and their decision-making, the accuracy of the passes and the work-rate off the ball were absolutely brilliant. Every time they had the ball in hand, the Crusaders looked threatening.”

Mallett also said Springbok coach Allister Coetzee should be a worried man after watching the game at Loftus Versfeld.

“If we pick a Springbok side full of players who are used to getting beaten by 50-plus points, we are in big trouble. They are not suddenly going to turn into world-beaters because they have a Bok jersey on. We have to select players out of successful franchises and at the moment, the Lions are our only successful team in Super Rugby. That is worrying.”

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