No idle time for fringe players
WHITE: LINING UP FRIENDLIES TO KEEP THEM MATCH-FIT
Bulls director of rugby Jake White says they are lining up friendly matches to give players game time so they can be match-fit when needed at the business end of the season.
The Pretoria-based side has managed to put itself in a position to have deep runs in the United Rugby Championship and the Champions Cup.
White’s charges have already secured their place in the knockout stages of the Champions Cup and will face Lyon in the last-16 at Loftus Versfeld on 6 April.
Meanwhile, in the URC, they are steadily making progress and building momentum. They are in third place on the points table with 35 points following their bonus point win over the Lions this past weekend.
The Bulls have managed to utilise their squad to perfection this season, using over 40 players. Heading to the climax of the season, White knows he’ll need every player in his dressing room to show up.
To make sure those who didn’t play against the Lions are not rusty, the Bulls played a friendly match last week Friday against the Valke in Modimolle, Limpopo in front of a massive crowd.
They won the match 45-14 with a playing squad that included the likes of Nizaam Carr, Cyle Brink, Khutha Mchunu, Chris Smith, Cornal Hendricks and a host of fringe players. White elaborated on the importance of the game.
“I need them to get game time because basically from March, other than the weekend after the Stormers, we literally play every Saturday if we stay alive in every competition, almost till June,” White pointed out.
“So, I need those guys to have game time. Whatever work we put in, in terms of how we exit, attack and how we do our set-pieces, I would like those players to take the learnings to use it in a game situation,” he said.
White hinted that more controlled friendly games are lined up, with the Bulls XV set to play a curtain-raiser against either Kenya or Namibia before the North-South derby on 2 March.
“I can’t emphasise this enough that these games are important, and there’s going to be a lot more we play. So, those guys will play another game – against Kenya or Namibia – and that will just help me get a little bit more,” he said.
The games are an opportunity for players to play for their contracts, according to White.
“There’s a lot of guys finishing up contracts in June, so I also need to know whether or not we are going to keep them.
“We also need to determine whether they have grown or not in the Bulls set-up.”