Cape Town – Even before kick-off in their Super Rugby round two match against the Hurricanes at Loftus, it was easy to surmise that the people of Pretoria have serious doubts about the title potential of the Bulls’ brains trust and playing staff of 2015.
How else do you explain that a crowd reportedly short of the 12,000-mark turned out for an attractive-looking early season clash – at least on paper – with a traditionally free-spirited New Zealand outfit boasting an All Blacks-laden backline?
Genuine faith in the current troops is clearly in short supply, because in past years the three-time champions would have lured far more people through the turnstiles at this infant stage of the campaign in pleasantly balmy Highveld conditions. (Yes, that’s even taking into account the sacrilegious event this year of a first-up loss to arch-rivals the Stormers.)