In South Africa it always used to be the case that when the north was strong the Springboks were strong. For north read Northern Transvaal, now officially (as opposed to affectionately) known as the Blue Bulls. The Bulls are heading for their third Currie Cup in a row and the Springboks are the Tri-Nations champions. QED.
When South Africa emerged from isolation in 1992 Northerns were the reigning Currie Cup champions and it was therefore logical to make their coach, John Williams, the Springbok coach. Northerns had been champions in three of the previous four seasons, too, although they shared the title with Western Province in 1989.
The fact that Natal had won the Cup in 1990, their centenary year, was regarded as the kind of flash in the pan that crops up once in 100 years, so there was a certain amount of shock when Ian McIntosh’s men did it again in 1992. With the benefit of hindsight, of course, we can see that a glorious period of Northern Transvaal rugby was coming to an end and that Natal were about to announce themselves as the team of the Nineties.
The primacy of Northerns was founded on a succession of powerhouse packs, but their talisman was a flyhalf: Naas Botha. When Botha announced his retirement after the Twickenham test in November 1992 it was the death knell for Northerns.
The first decade after the end of isolation was a tough one for the boys in blue. They still produced great players — Joost van der Westhuizen, Ruben Kruger, Jacques Olivier — but without Naas at the rudder success was never assured. Renamed officially the Blue Bulls and captained by Kruger and Van der Westhuizen they actually won the title again in 1998, but were far from being a great side and the Currie Cup that year was at a low ebb.
Then, in 2001 the Bulls signed a skinny 19-year-old flyhalf from the Boland by the name of Derick Hougaard. A couple of games for the under-21s were all it took to see that the kid had something. He made his Currie Cup debut the following season and in the final against the Lions at Ellis Park broke Botha’s points-scoring record to clinch the title.
At the same time that Hougaard was making his name the Bulls coach, Heyneke Meyer, was building a pack fit to rank with those of the isolation years. Geo Cronje not only looked like Louis Moolman, but played a bit like him too. What’s more, alongside Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Danie Rossouw, Cronje’s massive frame merely looked in scale.
So, while it might be argued that the 2002 title came a little early, there was a certain inevitability about the Bulls achievement in 2003. They simply had too many good players to be beaten regularly and their only loss, against Griquas at Loftus, provoked incredulity among observers.
This season the Bulls are better than they were last, for Meyer seems to have imparted a greater understanding of the game to his team. There are fewer loose cannons around and panic is a thing of the past. A few sides have put the Bulls under pressure this year, but only the Lions actually managed to beat them in a thriller at Ellis Park.
So while the other three semi- final contenders have lurched along, losing almost as many games as they win, the Bulls ensured themselves a home semifinal two weeks ago.
That done, they could afford a draw with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last week and could happily lose by 100 points against Western Province this weekend without it affecting their future.
Naturally enough the latter scenario is not on the agenda, despite the fact that half a dozen of Meyer’s squad are nursing injuries and Fourie du Preez, their jewel of a scrumhalf, will definitely not play. Meyer is not a man given to hyperbole, but this week he said: ‘Whatever team we send out, it will definitely be good enough to beat Western Province.â€
Those words went down like cold sick south of the Hex River, of course, but they were carefully chosen. Meyer understands that possession is nine-tenths of the law and his team is likely to have hegemony on it on Saturday. There are fewer scrums and far more lineouts in the modern game, and it is in the latter aspect that the Bulls will rule, whether Matfield plays or not.
These days it is an invidious task playing hooker for Province, simply because there are so few lineout options. Rob Linde wins most of his own ball in the middle, but Quinton Davids is so flat-footed he might as well be used to lift one of the props. Province have three fine athletes in the back row, but none cared to come to the rescue of Pieter Dixon against the Sharks at Newlands last week.
Given any space at all, the Province backs can cause havoc, but the home semifinal dependent on the away side earning at least two points at Loftus is so much moonshine. After Saturday’s game, the gulf between the Bulls and everyone else will be clear for even the most myopic to see.