AUDIO: Bulls' desperate situation that led to coach's bench selection
LISTEN as Bulls head coach Phiwe Nomlomo explains the selection difficulty he experienced ahead of their 21-42 Currie Cup loss to Griquas.
There was a surprise selection on the Bulls bench for the Griquas clash when former Scotland international and current assistant coach Josh Strauss was named on the bench.
All of the unions participating in the United Rugby Championship played fringe players from the intercontinental competition alongside Under-21 players and players from their youth and club systems.
After a strong start to the Currie Cup, following victories over strugglers Western Province and the Sharks, the wheels started to fall off for Nomlomo’s side as the Bulls suffered three consecutive defeats without accumulating any log points.
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The Bulls also lost players to the URC side and rotated heavily due to injuries and to expose youngsters to a higher level of the competition.
Nomlomo spoke about his selection policy and the inclusion of Josh Strauss on the bench.
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“We must keep on playing and learning. Next weekend [against the Lions] is not going to be any different from what we’ve seen.
“There will be a whole bunch of changes again, naturally. Not necessarily because we have injuries. It’s just where we are in the season at the moment.
“We have three teams out of the four [in play-off contention] that are playing next week, so we must ensure that everyone is well serviced.”
Nomlomu added: “It wasn’t an easy call [to select Josh Strauss on the bench].
“It’s not something that we wanted to do. It just shows you where we are at.
“We were forced into that decision. It doesn’t help much because he won’t be available [for selection] next week after picking up a niggle.
“That’s what we’ve been struggling with at the moment.”
