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Pretoria - Bulls coach Nollis Marais, under serious pressure after just one Super Rugby win from six this season, acknowledges that his side has not gelled properly in 2017.
Marais is in his second season as Bulls coach and while fans have been patient so far, acknowledging an attempt to transform into a side that prioritises ball-in-hand rugby, Saturday's 21-20 loss to the Sunwolves in Tokyo has not gone down well at all.
Marais said that that was the worst Super Rugby game he had ever watched, but he will not point out any individuals and he denies that there is a problem in terms of commitment from the players.
"At the moment as a team is not gelling properly and you can go down and look at certain individuals, but I wouldn't say that at the moment," he said.
"I think everybody is trying and they're making mistakes and costing us in the moment.
"I wouldn't go beyond to certain individuals and senior players ... I think as a team we're making too many mistakes.
"I'll admit, it (the Sunwolves loss) might be the worst Super Rugby game I've ever watched. It wasn't the plan for the weekend. We were put under pressure and we defaulted back to box kicking, that shouldn't have been the case. It was a horrible game of rugby.
"The team is not in a place where everybody is happy and joking, but also we must be careful of putting too much pressure on them and putting the axe over their head.
"I think they take responsibility and they know that we're in a world of hurt at the moment."
The Bulls will be looking to return to winning ways when they host the Jaguares at Loftus on Saturday. Kick-off is at 19:30.
