Bulls director of rugby Jake White says he is not unaware of the position they are in but must blood players to allow his squad to improve as a whole. Picture: Lee Warren/Gallo Images
While Bulls director of rugby Jake White said they are not kidding themselves about their position and prospects in the Champions Cup, from a coach’s perspective he owes it to his players to follow the strategy he set out at the start of the season and rotate his squad regularly.
White named a young Bulls team to face French side Castres Olympique in France on Saturday (kick-off 10pm). This is on the back of the Bulls being on a three-game losing streak, not winning since they beat Connacht 28–14 in the United Rugby Championship six weeks ago.
The Bulls are fifth in pool 3 going into the third round and progress into the play-offs could be an impossibility if they lose this game and other results go unfavourably.
Still, White named a team without the likes of Cameron Hanekom, Willie le Roux, Johan Goosen, Elrigh Louw, Sebastian de Klerk, Embrose Papier, Ruan Vermaak, Wilco Louw, Akker van der Merwe, Gerhard Steenekamp and Johan Grobbelaar.
“We are not where we want to be and we must not kid ourselves,” White said on Friday. “No South African teams are in a position to win the Champions Cup. There has been a lot written about whether we should be there or travel etc.”
However, he said though the situation was severe, he had to give opportunities to young players to develop the squad for future years.
“There is a massive difference between where we are as a franchise and where we want to be. But the only way we will get there is by blooding new players. If you don’t give them experience you won’t get them up to speed in terms of being able to get to a high level.”
He said the media had been harsh about their reporting on the Bulls’ defeats.
“You guys keep going on and on about how many times we’ve lost [in a row]. Only you guys are worried about it,” White added.
He said it was his new year’s resolution to see the narrative about the Bulls change in the media. So he had to stress why he was giving so many young players a chance all at once.
He stressed that the team that had been selected knew it was their responsibility to secure a win. He said he was not “chucking” the game.
Despite their form, Keagan Johannes and Boeta Chamberlain say the Bulls’ players are not feeling the pressure of the game.
Rather, they see it as an opportunity to showcase their skills by being “street-smart” and taking things back to the basics. Still, Chamberlain explained that “no one is relaxed” – all the players know what to do this weekend.
The Pretoria outfit also know that while they will be playing in front of a smaller-than-usual crowd of 12,500 supporters at Pierre-Fabre Stadium, they should not discount the value of home support.
“Most French teams have pride playing at home,” warned forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels. “They will have a full stadium shouting against us.”
Another Bulls forward, Sintu Manjezi, sees the game as an opportunity to prove his worth as a starting player against Castres lock Leone Nakarawa, a Fijian veteran, as well as other second-row players who are on the fringe of selection for the French national team.
Henry Immelman, Sibongile Novuka, Katlego Letebele, Chris Barend Smit, Aphiwe Dyantyi, Boeta Chamberlain, Bernard van der Linde, Nizaam Carr (c), Celimpilo Gumede, Kuyenzeka Xaba, Sintu Manjezi, JF van Heerden, Mornay Smith, Jan-hendrik Wessels, Alulutho Tshakweni. Bench: Joe van Zyl, Dylan Smith, Sebastian Lombard, Deon Slabbert, Corné Beets, Keagan Johannes, Jaco van der Walt, Cornel Smit.
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