Thursday, 10th May 2007 at 12:06 pm

Pretoria still floating

To be honest, it’s taken Feverpitcher several days to recover from the thrill of Saturday at Loftus, arguably the most sumptuous display a South African team has ever put on in Super rugby. Saturday night saw Pretoria run dry of Klipdrift for the first time since Naas returned from America, and if you happened to be at OR Tambo on Sunday morning, every second person had a touch of Bulls about the wardrobe somewhere.

But while the country’s been understandably jubilant about two home semifinals, and the very real prospect of an all South African final, there’s still the small matter of getting past the Crusaders. And while a display even approaching that against the Reds will be enough for the Bulls, 92-3 thrashings don’t come along very often, and the Crusaders don’t have a cupboard full of trophies in Christchurch for nothing.

And so there’s a gentlest hint of caution about Pretoria this week - with the players, at any rate (fans are still cheerfully delirious). Any team with a pack led by McCaw and a line directed by Carter screams quality, and while the Chiefs deconstructed the Crusaders’ game quite brilliantly last weekend, it’s not often the defending champs lose two on the trot.

Which is not to suggest that the Kiwi superstars will be in the final; rather, a reminder that the Bulls still have a lot of work to do to ensure a shot at the trophy. Heyneke Meyer will know that better than most, and will have spent this week coaxing his players down from the weekend’s high; for triumphant as the final whistle must have felt against the Reds, the next two weekends offer far more meaningful rewards to the Bulls.