Bulls confident of season turnaround after damaging successive SA derby defeats

Bulls breakdown coach Nollis Marais said they were on a better wicket relative to the same stage during their previous United Rugby Championship (URC) season following two successive losses to South Africa teams.

The Pretoria side suffered two damaging defeats to the Stormers and Sharks away from home in December, shipping nine tries in total from the two games.

Director of rugby Jake White had preserved his preferred 23 for the blockbuster Christmas period clashes after resting his big guns for the European Champions Cup earlier last month.

READ | Eight Argentine rugby players on trial for brutal murder

However, the move failed to pay dividends after they went on a three-game winless run that started at Sandy Park, where they were soundly beaten by former English champions Exeter Chiefs.

White’s assistant, Marais, however, drew comparisons to their URC start last year when they were bottom of the log early on but recovered to make the final in Cape Town, stunning Leinster in Dublin in the semi-finals.

"If you go back a year, we were two [wins] from seven in the URC, so our record this season is far better in comparison," Marais said.

"I definitely agree that we’ve hit the buffers a bit over the past few weeks, but we can’t be too negative given our log position.

"We need to get the balance between creating play and playing the percentages right."

The Bulls’ discipline has fallen off a cliff recently, as they’ve conceded two penalty tries in two straight matches.

Springbok starlet Canan Moodie was also shown red at Kings Park last week, where the Bulls suffered two yellow cards.

Moreover, the Sky Blues’ scrum has also crumbled under the pressure of more experienced front rowers they faced, who possessed Steven Kitshoff (Stormers),