VIDEO: ‘I would walk away as well’
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White made a bold statement following his reinstatement as Currie Cup coach.
The Bulls announced on Wednesday that White would replace Edgar Marutlulle as Currie Cup mentor for the rest of the season.
The Pretoria side has yet to record a Currie Cup win this season, while the franchise’s Champions Cup campaign also came to an abrupt end last week at the hands of five-time winners Stade Toulousain.
Overall the union have suffered 10 consecutive defeats – which includes United Rugby Championship losses.
Fronting the media during the team announcement for the Currie Cup match against Griquas, White was bombarded with questions relating to Marutlulle’s demotion.
“I’ve had loads of conversation with Edgar and we had meetings,” White said, adding: ” I’m not going to talk to the media about the in-depth details.
“We have a good understanding.
“Edgar was very relieved that he did not have to go through the pressure.
“We know what the Bulls supporters are like in Pretoria and I didn’t think it was fair to expose him week after week in an environment that I know needs some extra attention to turn it around.
“Last year the Sharks and Western Province had Currie Cup coaches, who no longer coach the respective teams.
“So, I did not think it was fair on Edgar, because of my doing, to expose him to that pressure.
“Edgar is young and talented and what we have learned is that we need to give young coaches more time to put a team together.
“We tried it with Pine Pienaar, we tried it with Nollis Marais and it hasn’t worked.
“It has nothing to do with him, it is just the method we use.”
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‘No panic stations’
White also refutes claims that Maratlulle’s demotion is a ‘panic response’ to the winless run and instead revealed that he would relinquish the role if he failed to get the team back on track.
“Why would it be a panic response?” White asked.
“At the end of the day, if I’m not the right guy, I will walk away as well.
“It is not as if there are rules for people and rules for others.
“We’ve had a tough season. We’ve lost Marcell Coetzee, Duane Vermeulen, Trevor Nyakane, Walt Steenkamp, Madosh Tabwe, while other teams have gained players.
“And that’s not an excuse. It’s just the lay of the land of where we are. We had a very tough two months over the Christmas period, playing the Sharks and Stormers away over the festive period.
“Then playing Exeter and Lyon [away], tough games, and you see now that they are still both in the quarterfinals. So, they weren’t easy results in the first place.
“It’s not a case of panic. It’s a case of making decisions that are also in the interest of everybody.
“You read what Edgar said, and I am not talking for him – he said it.
“He puts the union first. And if it means that we need to make some changes now to get different results or different energies in the group, we are going to have to do that.”
White said that players are just as much in danger of being replaced.
“I don’t think they playing like they should. They are not showing that they deserve to be at this Unions playing Currie Cup rugby and that has nothing to do with Edgar.
“I think a coach can only do so much. If you run to touch three times and lose two line-outs and drop the ball three times then it becomes irrelevant who is your coach.
“So now I’m here to make sure the guys who are not good enough are not going to be with us next year.
“And in my position, I’m able to do that.
“I think the pressure is now on the players too, if they feel there is a little bit of heat, well that is the way it is going to be.
“Nobody is happy about our current results, so we need to change.”
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