VIDEO: Jake's selection conundrum about more than just resting stars
Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White kept his cards close to his chest this week, but indications are that a much-changed team will run out at Franklin’s Gardens for a Champions Cup quarterfinal face-off against Northampton Saints on Saturday.
In the wake of two tough matches – a humbling 14-47 loss to Leinster in Dublin and a 59-19 Champions Cup win over Lyon in Pretoria last weekend – White was faced with a ‘complicated’ selection poser this week.
And indications are that he is leaning towards focusing on the United Rugby Championship and not the more distinguished Champions Cup.
The team for Saturday’s outing at Franklin’s Gardens will only be announced on Friday and the tour squad also have not been formally announced.
With Defending URC champions Munster – who beat the Stormers in the Final in Cape Town last year arriving for a Round 14 crunch match at Loftus Versfeld next week – White may well be keeping his powder dry.
It has been suggested that the bulk of the frontline squad – players like Johan Grobbelaar, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw, Ruan Nortje, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux – were not on the eight different flights to England this past Tuesday.
Celimpilo Gumede and Cameron Hanekom are both returning from injuries, but it is also uncertain if they will feature at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.
Not all of the players who missed the trip to Northampton are being ‘rested’.
The encounters against Leinster and Lyon resulted in a rash of injuries.
Among those injured are co-captain Ruan Nortje and Springbok Marco van Staden.
(WATCH as Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White talks about the selection conundrum he faces ahead of the Champions Cup quarterfinal face-off with Northampton Saints….)
“Without giving my squad away, a lot of guys suffered bumps and bruises and a lot of guys need to be looked after as well,” White said – hinting that the team that travelled to Northampton may differ from that which travelled to Dublin a fortnight ago.
“It is one of those difficult decisions for me to make,” White said.
He added that on Monday they could not train because of ‘sore bodies’ and on Tuesday they had limited training as the squad departed for England late that night.
“There are a lot of things I have to work on to ensure we can tick as many boxes as we can.”
He said the secret is finding a balance between resting players and doing justice to the fixture at Franklin’s Gardens.
“Munster [URC Round 14 at Loftus Versfeld] is not going away.
“It is important to understand that not only do we arrive [from eight different flights] at different times in England, we also arrive at different times [again numerous separate flights] back in South Africa on Monday.”
With some players landing as late as 14.00 on Monday, training is going to be very complicated ahead of the resumption of the URC.
“We know what happened at Leinster two weeks ago and it is my responsibility to ensure we narrow that gap as quickly as we can.”
Asked if he was going to focus more on the URC, White was considerate in his response, without giving anything away.
“I want to ensure the Bulls are as competitive as we can be, every time we run out,”he said, adding that they want to reach the same standards as Leinster has.
“Take nothing away from La Rochelle, who won it twice, and Toulouse, who won the Champions Cup five times, Leinster – with their academy and the way they bring players through – is the standard we need to get to.”
White pointed out that in the last five years, the Bulls lost players like Trevor Nyakane, Pierre Schoeman, Lood de Jager, Jason Jenkins, RG Snyman, Hanro Liebenberg, Arno Botha, Ivan van Zyl, Handre Pollard, Jan Serfontein, Jessie Kriel – all who currently play abroad.
“If those guys were training here, we would think differently about competitions.
“That is where I want to get to and then I will be much more comfortable with where this team is.”
Once the Bulls return from Northampton next Monday – win or lose – they go into a vital period of URC fixtures.
They host Munster and Ospreys, followed by European semifinals (if they win this weekend), then back to hosting Glasgow Warriors and Benetton in the URC.
The Champions Cup Final is scheduled for May 25, before the Bulls travel to Durban to face the Sharks before the final round of URC league action.
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