White ‘proud’ of Nkosi after Bulls winger’s return to action

Bulls boss Jake White has tipped his hat to winger Sbu Nkosi, who returned to action in the United Rugby Championship match against the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Nkosi, who previously played for the Sharks and was a member of the 2019 Springbok World Cup-winning side, has recently revealed his struggles with mental health.

The 27-year-old went AWOL from Loftus Versfeld in the latter stages of last year. He was later found at his father’s house in Mpumalanga.

‘Proud of the guy’

Saturday’s match was Nkosi’s first since returning to the Bulls. While the Pretoria-based side were beaten 23-19 — for the fifth time in a row by the Stormers — Nkosi scored a try and enjoyed a good outing.

Bulls director of rugby White said he was proud of the winger.

“I’m a dad. I have sons who are 31 and 27. One doesn’t need to be punished because you need to sort yourself out,” said White about Nkosi.

“He’s a Springbok, he’s a World Cup winner and he wants to play rugby. I’m not going to punish him. I’m proud of the guy, the way he’s come back.”

‘Feel-good story’

White added: “It must have been difficult for him. He didn’t touch a ball and then he has to go out there and play in front of 41,000 people. It’s really a great message, a feel-good story.

“I also want to compliment the Bulls and (CEO) Edgar Rathbone for the way they handled the situation. We now need to make sure we keep helping him, consistently.”

White, who has also gone through a recent health scare and had to undergo emergency surgery at the beginning of the year, jokingly said: “I would have liked him (Nkosi) to score another try and win us the game.”

Despite their loss to the Stormers the Bulls are still very much in the running to feature in the URC playoffs later this season. White’s team are in sixth position on the points table after eight wins from 14 matches. They have 41 points.

The Stormers are second (behind Leinster) with 54 points. The Sharks are seventh with 38 points, while the Lions are 14th with 24 points.