Pine sowing seeds at Loftus
The Bulls have invested heavily in their future, and Pine Pienaar is the man entrusted with breeding the next generation of stars.
Having seen most of the players that brought them three Super Rugby titles and four Currie Cup champions in the last decade move on, the Pretoria franchise have been recruiting as much young talent as they possibly can, and Pienaar plays a vital role in managing this transition phase.
The former SA Under-20 assistant coach arrived at Loftus Versfeld last year and was made head coach of the Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup sides, with Frans Ludeke focusing on the Super Rugby side completely.
This put Pienaar in perfect position to groom the stable of young stars that have flocked to Pretoria in recent times, whilst also proving his credentials in a high-pressure environment.
Pienaar told this website in an exclusive interview that one of the major challenges of his job is bringing the promising young players at his disposal through the system and developing them for higher honours in the future.
"We have eight or nine players that are playing their first season of Currie Cup so it makes a huge difference. It is exciting to see them on the field and obviously we are hoping that a few of these guys will come through next year in Super Rugby," he said.
Pienaar explained that as he has worked closely with the younger players in the side during the Vodacom Cup, he understands what they are capable of which makes it easier to manage the step up to the demands of the Currie Cup.
"It is important for me as head coach of the Vodacom Cup to bring through a few youngsters in that competition because we lost 11 players to the Springboks and last year we lost a lot of senior players, so it is time for the young guys to come through in the Currie Cup.
"I think it is important that your focus is on developing young players in the Vodacom Cup and through your junior season as well because a lot of those players are now playing Currie Cup.
"That is one thing we have done in the Vodacom Cup – throw in a few youngsters and then coach them and manage them to see what they can bring, and then obviously you can them make better decisions with them in the Currie Cup," he said.
With a full season in this dual role under his belt Pienaar is feeling more settled, and has turned his focus to improving the mental preparation of his players for the more demanding six-team format of the competition.
"The biggest advantage this year is that I have been with the union for a year, so I know the players much better now because I worked with most of them last year in the Currie Cup and with a bunch of them in the Vodacom Cup.
"Now that it is my second Currie Cup I am not in the deep end now, you know much better what you want to do and what you want to focus on because there is a huge difference between Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup rugby.
"It is a bit better but every week you are learning and I think that when you have a young side as we have this year you have to prepare them better mentally than we have in the past, so I think that is one point you have to focus on especially with the young players.
"There is no rest in the Currie Cup, every weekend there is a tough battle, so I think ten games in a row home and away will always be a challenge," he said.
There is certainly no shortage of talent for Pienaar to work with, but his responsibility is also to ensure that the Blue Bulls are consistently competitive, which is where the experience of his handful of senior players comes to the fore.
"We have five U21s and an U19 in the side so it is a young group and the biggest challenge for us is how to manage them and ensure they are focused every week.
"You don't want to be a side that is up one week and down the next as we were in our first two matches, beating Griquas and then losing to the Cheetahs.
"They always give you a bit of energy which is nice but with the older players in between them I want them to guide the young players through what is going to be a tough Currie Cup," he said.
With all the firepower in the junior ranks in Pretoria Pienaar has the opportunity to see a few superstars develop under his guidance, but he is also aware that he needs to produce consistent results as the Loftus faithful are not renowned for their patience.
Pienaar is the only coach at the 'big five' unions in the Currie Cup that did not coach Super Rugby, and this slightly different setup means that there is a focus and familiarity with the players which could well pay off for his side.
By Michael de Vries
