White takes a jab at stacked Stormers bench as Bulls prepare for forward battle

Jake White has taken the mickey before when it comes to playing mind games against the opposition, and the veteran coach was at it again on Thursday as he named his Bulls team for their big derby match against the Stormers in Pretoria on Saturday.

While White made just one change to his starting XV with Springbok tighthead Trevor Nyakane returning to the No 3 jersey to set up a crunch clash with Steven Kitshoff, he took a swipe at the Stormers and suggested that they would be fielding a team with six forwards on the bench and just two backs.

“It will make a massive difference that the Stormers are missing two really good players in Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit, but the fact that they are coming to Loftus with like 14 locks suggests they’re going to go with six forwards and two backs on the bench, which I haven’t seen before from any Western Province team,” White said.

“When did the Stormers ever need six forwards (on the bench) against the Bulls before? The Stormers used to be known for running the ball but now they’re going to play six forwards off the bench and people are asking the Bulls if we’re going to kick on them?! But rugby hasn’t changed. It’s the forwards who always win the game for you and this will be one of those games where the forward battle is really important.”

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The 56-year-old White certainly subscribes to the theory that a great tighthead prop is the starting point for any successful team and Nyakane is the sort of sturdy oak who can give them set-piece stability, especially when the Stormers boast a loosehead that is as wonderful a scrummager as Kitshoff. Not to mention South Africa’s first-choice tighthead Frans Malherbe and strong-scrummaging hooker Bongi Mbonambi.

“Trevor can’t play every minute of every game and he added a lot of value off the bench last weekend, but if he can have a good game against the best player in the Stormers squad and we can play with exactly the same intensity, then hopefully we can build on the win against the Sharks. We know we have to match them in the scrums because the Stormers use that to get out of their half.

“According to John Dobson, Siya and Pieter-Steph are not the best players he has ever coached – that’s Kitshoff – so I felt it was only fair that we play Trevor against him.

“The Stormers pride themselves on their scrum and maul, but they haven’t played against this group of players and it will be good to see how they cope with us.”

Bulls:

David Kriel, Travis Ismaiel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (capt), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Jason Jenkins, Trevor Nyakane, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen.

Replacements: Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marcel van der Merwe, Sintu Manjezi, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren

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