CAPE TOWN – Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett heaped praise on the Bulls following their 21-19 Super Rugby win over the Hurricanes in Pretoria at the weekend.
This was new Bulls coach John Mitchell’s first Super Rugby game with the Pretoria franchise and they showed marked improvement from last year.
When commenting on the game, Mallet said he was pleasantly surprised after not expecting the Bulls to win.
“I have never been more pleased to have been wrong. It is a great turnaround and hopefully we will get bigger crowds at Loftus to support the Bulls because that was a really skilful and gutsy performance by the Bulls. It was just everything you would expect from a South African team against a New Zealand team and thank goodness we came out on top,” said Mallett.
He added: “The Bulls deserved their win because they stuck in there and played for each. Their fitness levels were good and their off-loading game was excellent. Their scrimmaging was much better than last year and a lot of credit must be given to the tight-head prop (Frans van Wyk) who came in. Then their defence, we spoke about it, but they got stuck in the whole game.”
Only 9,506 fans attended the match, but Mallett is hopeful for a beet turnout this weekend when the Bulls host the Lions.
Photo Credit- News24
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