Ludeke's big Bok poser
How to manage the key Springboks in his team. That is one of the biggest pickles confronting Bulls coach Frans Ludeke, with the Super Rugby season looming.
Speaking to rugby365 ahead of Saturday's encounter with Saracens in London, Ludeke admitted it is going to be an intricate balancing act to run the Bulls' stated goal of adding a fourth Super Rugby title to their long list of achievements and managing the players that will be vital to the Bok cause at the World Cup later this year.
The first hint that this "management process" is already in play was when the Bulls' team announcement for the encounter with the English Premiership outfit at Allianz Park included an almost missable paragraph: "Victor Matfield will travel to London as part of the coaching team and not as a player and will not be in action over the weekend."
"The key is that he makes such a big difference when he involved is in the team," Ludeke said, when asked about Matfield's various roles throughout the season.
"It is important for us to start strong and he'll play a role in that.
"However, we are sensitive to the fact that we have to manage his game time.
"As the season goes on we'll assess it game-by-game and then make those calls."
The coach said there are many factors that will play a role, but the key is that they will make "responsible calls" on a weekly basis.
However, it is not just Matfield that needs to be managed, although there is a need to be more sensitive when it comes to the 37-year-old.
The Bulls have a number of players that are in Bok coach Heyneke Meyer's provisional World Cup frame – players like Trevor Nyakane, Marcel van der Merwe, Adriaan Strauss, Matfield, Flip van der Merwe, Francois Hougaard, Handré Pollard and Jan Serfontein.
And Ludeke is aware that while chasing Super Rugby glory, he still needs to ensure they arrive in form and fresh at the World Cup.
"That will be the challenge every week, to ensure we have the 23 best players on the field," he told rugby365, adding: "That will be influenced by a variety of factors, such as injury, form, etc."
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
