While the Stormers and Sharks gave South African supporters reason to smile this weekend, the dismal failure of the Bulls against the Reds would have left most pundits shaking their heads in disbelief — we have not seen such a poor performance from the side in years.

The Sharks were always going to be the team to watch this season (from an SA point of view), while the Stormers are beginning to show signs of things to come. The Cheetahs and Lions were never going to have enough depth for the Super 14 this time around, and while much has been said of the loss of Victor Matfield, it would seem to be former coach Heyneke Meyer that the Bulls are missing most.

Meyer's influence on the Bulls cannot be underestimated. After building a culture of winning during his time in charge, Meyer's time with the Bulls went beyond the senior team, it was felt across the union. Senior players such as Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Derick Hougaard were integral in his team and their loyalty to him is well known.

With Meyer gone, a number of veteran players look lost out on the park, seemingly struggling to come to terms with life without their former boss. You have to feel for his replacement Frans Ludeke, who in truth never had much chance of replicating Meyer's incredible success in his first season in charge of the Bulls. The former coach left the side at the ultimate high, winning the Super 14, and anybody would be hard-pressed to continue the upward curve.

Personally I cannot see Ludeke lasting long at the Bulls. His time with the Lions was far from exemplary and it is doubtful he can turn 2008 around for his side, and with Super 14 success still fresh in the minds of the Pretoria faithful, the new Bulls mentor is in for a rough ride…

On another note it was somewhat distressing to see how many players were needlessly sent to the sin bin this weekend. I hate to say it, but rugby is becoming incredibly soft…

Take poor Chris Latham for example. He was sent packing for a gentle touch on Wikus van Heerden's arm at the ruck during the Reds thumping of the Bulls. Van Heerden was holding on come hell or high water and it is difficult to see what else Latham could do to ensure that ball came out, but after the briefest and lightest bouts of raking I have ever seen, he was sent marching to the bin.

It is not the first bit of overzealous refereeing this season. Players have been cooling their heels for high tackles that are quite honestly not all that high — an arm around the chest seems more than enough to warrant a trip to the cooler now days. And if a tackled player ducks into the defender's arm? The Defender is likely to be on the sidelines for the next ten minutes.

One player was sent off for swearing on the weekend!

Personally I am not opposed to the odd bout of fisticuffs. I don't have a problem with rucking either (within reason obviously), it is part of the game that I have come to love. And let's be fair, when you have 30 above average size adult males hammering into each other for 80 minutes, somebody is bound to lose their cool and throw a haymaker or two. The fans seldom complain either…

We have entire DVDs dedicated to rugby fights. You cannot tell me the spectators mind the brawls if they are buying the highlights package!

Former Wallaby hooker Phil Kearns summed it up nicely this weekend: "Refs need to harden the hell up!"

Send me all your thoughts to rob@metropolis.co.za.