Another United Rugby Championship, another final, another failure. The harsh reality that faces the Vodacom Bulls as attention turns to the Springboks and an international season.
Possibly the most disappointing part of their loss in Friday night’s final against Leinster was that they never gave themselves a fighting chance.
Ninety seconds in, when they were stretched on defence for the first time, Canan Moodie stuck his hand out, and they were down to 14, and never recovered.
Leinster inflicted brutal punishment for mistakes, and the Bulls made too many. Their senior players let them down. It was akin to coming to a boxing match and punching yourself with an uppercut before the opposition could get close.
MONKEY ON THEIR BACKS
And it meant that in five seasons of URC rugby, the Bulls have lost four finals. The reality is that is what people will remember. Not that this team fought its way through adversity, a change of coach and played some superb rugby on the way to the final. Tournaments are about trophies in the cupboard, and in the URC, the Bulls’ cupboard stays bare.
So what is the answer? How do they overcome the final hurdle? Is it a mental thing or is it just circumstance? These will be the answers they are searching for in the months to come.
Because they have the players and they have the game time - you don’t get to the final if you don’t have any fight in you. You don’t turn around a seven-game losing streak to win eight on the trot going into the last dance if there aren’t things that are done right.
Johan Ackermann’s coaching style is very player-centric - he is a caring coach who believes his job is more than just the 80 minutes on the field. And that is something that is admirable. In contrast to the schoolmaster style that Jake White employed, it seems the players really enjoyed this change of pace.
But unfortunately, the result was the same. Last season they lost 32-7 to Leinster. This season it was 36-7. You can understand an argument that says nothing has really changed at Loftus Versfeld.
WAS IT CORRECT TO RETURN HOME?
One of the decisions that perhaps - and in retrospect every decision will be analysed and rethought - was to bring the players home in the fortnight before the final. Ackermann spoke to his senior leaders and they decided it would be better to prepare for the final in Pretoria at their home base. Players would sleep in their own beds, and the bulk of their preparation would be done in Pretoria, thousands of miles away from Dublin.
That decision feels a bit off now, and there will be those who rightly question why they didn’t stay in Dublin in the lead-up to the game. Even if it was a factor, it doesn’t explain why they sucker-punched themselves when the kickoff came.
Leinster are a very good side. At Croke Park they are even better. The Bulls needed everything to go right in that final, and they did everything they should not have done. It wasn’t just a bad day at the office, it was a nightmare they walked themselves into.
But the wonderful thing about sport is that there is always an opportunity to go again. This Bulls side had a 19 per cent chance of making the final (as per URC’s own prediction model) back in January.
TURNED THEIR SEASON AROUND
They were the ones who turned their season around. They were the ones who didn’t allow the negativity to overcome them and simply use it for the next season. They fought back and they played some exceptional rugby.
Ackermann’s team spirit and the fight in the group was exceptional all season, until the final.
It may just have been a bad night, and their senior players may have had a nightmare, and there is a lot of internal reflection that needs to happen over the next few months, but getting to the final was an achievement of its own.
Unfortunately, given their history, and a tag that this group takes with them until they end it - they have now lost five finals in six years (if you include the Rainbow Cup).
The team have a sports psychologist on board, and will be working hard to overcome their own failings, but until next season, there is very little they can do about it.
More than a decade ago, the Bulls under Heyneke Meyer declared themselves a side that wanted to measure themselves against the Crusaders. Three Super Rugby titles later they achieved their goal.
LEINSTER ARE THE MEASURE OF THE URC
This Bulls side know that Leinster are the measure of the URC, and that they need to improve on other parts as well - including a stronger performance in the Champions’ Cup.
And they know the hurt of losing finals, just as Leinster do.
How they get that to change will be interesting going forward, but it is true that while it was so disappointing that they didn’t give themselves a chance on Friday night, one really bad evening should not be seen as a failure of the season.
But as teams like Leinster know, until you change it, you have that monkey on your back.
Sitting and wallowing in self-defeat helps nobody. Now is the time to rest. Several of the players were still rewarded with international call-ups and they have a different focus now.
But when the time comes, the next challenge is an All Black side in the middle of the pre-season, and then the URC dance begins again.
When that happens, this Bulls side need to be ready, and need to have a performance that gets them the chance of home-ground advantage for a final. And the chance not to get stage fright on the big stage.
Until then, they will reflect. There really isn’t anything else they can do.