Vodacom Bulls XV head coach Phiwe Nomlomo has demanded immediate accountability from his squad after a third consecutive Carling Currie Cup defeat, labelling their habit of conceding early points as unsustainable.
The Pretoria outfit was dismantled 42-19 by a rampant Fidelity ADT Lions side at UJ Stadium on Saturday, 1 August 2026. The result anchors the winless Bulls to the bottom of the tournament log following a bruising opening to their campaign.
A catastrophic first half saw the visitors trail 28-0 at the interval, compounded by a yellow card to lock Sintu Manjezi for cynical play. While a second-half resurgence yielded three tries, the damage had long been done.
Speaking to the media post-match, a frustrated Nomlomo pulled no punches regarding his side's tactical discipline and inability to absorb early pressure.
“We have to be better at how we start games,” Nomlomo lamented. “We fire shots, we let teams in. The Lions start quickly, and they want to put pressure on you with the scoreboard. We knew that. We were prepared for that."
Any hopes of an historic second-half comeback were instantly extinguished when the Lions struck immediately after the restart.
"That try straight after half-time hurt us," Nomlomo admitted. "We just felt we were always two scores away as we were building into the game.”
Despite the heavy defeat, Nomlomo found a silver lining in the grit his severely depleted side displayed to win the second half 19-14.
“Hell of a proud with how we bounced back,” he said. “The fight was incredible.”
The coach revealed that several players pushed through the pain barrier just to keep 15 men on the park.
“There are a lot of guys who stayed on with niggles,” he explained. “The guys who are left, we’re going to have to really roll up our sleeves and get on with it.”
The Bulls' poor form is heavily linked to a crippling injury crisis. The situation worsened on Saturday when stand-in captain Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg was forced off early, leaving a young leadership group exposed.
Despite the mounting adversity, Nomlomo refuses to look for excuses as they search for answers.
“It’s frustrating,” said Nomlomo. “However, we’re going to put our heads together, and we’re going to have to bounce back.”
Still winless and sitting at the bottom of the log, the Bulls have no margin for error. They must find an immediate fix before hosting the dangerous Airlink Pumas in a crucial Round 4 clash.