Jake White spurs on the Bulls’ stampede
The Bulls’ stampede is gaining momentum and the Stormers were the latest team to suffer an earthshaking trampling.
While the Stormers went into last Saturday’s derby with seven wins over their arch-rivals, it has gone almost unnoticed that the Bulls have been making winning more than a habit.
They are on a five-match winning run after their derby win over the Stormers but their extended record is also noteworthy. Two close defeats in the second half of December set them back, but before that they had won five out of six matches.
They are gathering momentum and director of rugby Jake White is stopping just short of saying “told you so!”
“We have grown as a team,” White said after his team defeated the Stormers. “Early on we did well with a young group of players. We were always going to get better. We’ll get it right.”
White is firm in his belief that his team is showing an upward curve. Things were far from rosy when he took the job almost four years ago.
White draws comfort from one of professional sport’s truisms that coaches are always a week away from being a superstar.
A sage observation from a perhaps unlikely source also helped bring perspective for White on the day his team broke their losing run against the Stormers.
“Bakkies Botha said to me in the change room, ‘sometimes the road is longer than it is wide’. It has taken a long road for us.”
White wasn’t necessarily under pressure to get a positive result against the Stormers but he needed the win as affirmation that progress has been made. The Bulls had made considerable investment to change the profile of the squad, with the accent in particular falling on embedding experience.
“Since I got here, the squad has changed significantly. The average age has gone up. The guys who stayed have become seasoned pros.
“I have no doubt we’ll just get better and better,” he said.
There certainly is greater resolve and resilience in the Bulls’ ranks. Even on the days when they fall short on the scoreboard, it is by small margins. The Bulls rarely drop their bundle and that is testament to the fighting spirit that now permeates the squad.
Having to compete in the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup with their burdensome travel schedules has necessitated the regular rotation of players. When they travel abroad and return home, their starting XV for the next game is seated in business class, with the rest of the Bulls in “cattle”. It has helped them perform to optimum levels after longhaul flights.
Planning ahead in selection has also served its purpose. What will have emboldened White in his view of his squad’s growth is the rapid rise of the young players.
JF van Heerden, who will turn 20 in May, and 24-year-old tighthead prop Francois Klopper helped the Bulls surge to victory in the final quarter on Saturday.
White believes it was an enriching experience.
“There was no Elrigh Louw, no Cameron Hanekom, guys who would ordinarily be in the group. Devon Williams keeps a double World Cup winner [Willie le Roux] out of starting line-up. It creates competition in the group. Everyone wants to be part of this. It shows things are working,” White said.