Talking after a dramatic 2024 Currie Cup exit, Phiwe Nomlomo mirrored on the highs and lows of his first season as head coach of the Vodacom Bulls.
The Bulls on Saturday missed out on a spot in subsequent week’s last of rugby’s oldest competitors after the Sharks fought again from being three gamers all the way down to seal an extra-time attract Pretoria.
Trevor Nyakanye scored the decisive attempt within the 98th minute of play at Loftus Versfeld, and the Durbanites progressed to the showpiece on the tries scored rule, having dotted down six occasions to the Bulls’ 5.
The Sharks had been diminished to 12 males within the closing levels of normal time. Nevertheless, the Bulls spurned a number of alternatives to win the match, and Johan Goosen missed a 50-metre penalty within the last play of the 80, as did Boeta Chamberlain within the a hundredth minute of the playoff.
“There was a plan, we simply didn’t execute,” Nomlomo advised reporters post-match at Loftus. “We slipped a number of tackles within the first half however that was simply one-on-one stuff and we’ll take a look at it… it was disappointing.
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“However the guys had been valiant on the market, they actually tried arduous. Goosen broke his nostril early and he stayed on the market for the entire sport. And Cobus [Wiese] performed 100 minutes as a ahead. That’s huge for us, so there’s rather a lot to take out of this.
“In fact we might’ve been higher. We broke the road a few occasions in that first half, and we presumably might’ve put the sport to mattress with a bit extra accuracy and persistence.”
The Herd had been unbeaten and topped the standings after the primary eight rounds of the common season, however misplaced each their remaining clashes and had been overtaken by the Lions, who will host the ultimate at Ellis Park subsequent Saturday.
“Did we do properly at occasions this season? Sure, extremely, and we grew a few guys who had been youthful – we noticed Katlego Letebele are available [as a late replacement on Saturday] and he seemed like a world-beater,” Nomlomo stated.
“Simply even Boeta, the boldness on the back-end simply to say, ‘give it to me’. That for me is vital. He’s going to develop and get higher in how he influences the sport.
“This sport was bizarre, as a result of we had it in our palms after which let go, and that’s the half for me that’s disappointing.”
With one eye on the Currie Cup playoffs in addition to prepping for the Vodacom URC, the Bulls fielded much-changed lineups bolstered by skilled, however undercooked, gamers the final two weeks whereas negotiating a rising damage record.
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On whether or not the Bulls took the best strategy for the Currie Cup as he lower his enamel within the sizzling seat, Nomlomo provides, “It’s a tough query to ask now, to ponder on what the season was like … I thank the workers, the coaches, the director with the CEO and the board, as a result of everybody was behind me.
“Once more, a loss comes down to 1 particular person, the top coach, that’s a tricky half. There’ll most likely be sleepless nights for some time however we’ll recover from it.
“I attempt to not work an excessive amount of on mistaken or proper, we need to enhance each single sport as a result of you may at all times discover one thing. That steady progress was vital.
“We needed to mix the squad as a lot as doable, and haven’t been capable of subject the identical 23 back-to-back all season, and it’s not simply due to rotation however due to how arduous we had been hammered with accidents.
“The expansion would’ve been making an attempt to get an id earlier with the squad in order that we knew what we’re about, as a result of we got here collectively massively properly. And we didn’t at all times present bravery, and that was one other factor right this moment.
“After they had 12 guys on the park and we had 15, I simply want we had been extra courageous to then play.”
Photograph: Lee Warren/Gallo Photographs
