It is a team packed with quality and one would be hard pressed not to believe that the Blue Bulls will have a great campaign. Matfield although hinting that he would not play in all the matches will present a formidable challenge to the opposition as will Fourie du Preez, new signing Gary Botha, Pierre Spies and the accurate boot of Morne Steyn.
However as good as it looks the Bulls have several problem areas that teams will be lining up to test. Zane Kirchner at fullback will be viewed by some as a weak link who failed to entrench himself in the minds of the fans. Ndungane who enjoyed playing with ace winger Habana and some may say was made to look better than he is and probably going to be heading into the competition as the slowest winger on show. Additionally unless the majority of rugby pundits have missed something what is the rationale behind veteran De Wet Barry and Jaco van der Westhuyzen in the Bulls squad?
If they can field their best team for the next 14 weeks then the Bulls will be serious contenders, yet relying on the second stringers will definitely put them under pressure. It all kicks off on Friday in Bloem.
