Vodacom Bulls coach Pote Human says they did everything right in their 40-3 lashing of the Stormers at Loftus on Saturday.
With four tries, including a brace from debutant Rosko Specman and a suffocating defensive display, the Bulls sufficiently negated the Stormers’ challenge.
Human lauded his backroom staff and players for their perfect execution of the team’s plans against their arch-rivals.
‘We knew it was going to be tough, but we worked hard for this one. I must credit my management team and players. We got it spot on and our players produced what we expected of them on the field,’ Human said.
‘Our set pieces, especially the lineouts, were awesome; we took the ball away from them. Not conceding a try against this Stormers team is a great achievement. Our defence was excellent.’
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However, Human warned his charges against falling in the trap of complacency, telling them not to get ahead of themselves so early in the season.
‘It’s a great start, it’s great for the guys’ confidence and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. But Super Rugby is not won in the first week. There’s a tough road ahead. I believe we’ve got a squad that can do really well this year, a squad that can surprise some teams. We just have to stay humble and grounded.’
Human was full of praise for Specman, who traded the Blitzboks for the Bulls. Playing in his first game, the playmaking speedster made a mockery of the Stormers defence with a couple of lethal steps that left Dillyn Leyds and several other would-be tacklers in his wake.
‘Specman’s tries were unbelievable. Last season we played good rugby, but didn’t finish well. Today was a different story. We needed someone to finish and he proved today that he has that X-factor we needed.’
The Bulls’ next opponents are the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.
Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix