Stormers coach baffled by Bulls' Bok IP injection
VIDEO: Stormers defence coach Norman Laker was surprised to learn that four Springbok assistant coaches have been deployed to help the struggling Bulls.
The Bulls received assistance from Bok assistant coaches in the form of Felix Jones and Jerry Flannery, Mobi-Unit coach Duane Vermeulen, and Head of Athletic Performance Andy Edwards.
The Pretoria-based side, under the guidance of Johan Ackermann following the departure of former Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White, has slumped into a five-match losing run in all competitions and will be determined to break it against tournament leaders Stormers in Cape Town.
Stormers defence coach Norman Laker was left surprised that the Bok coaches were made available to the Bulls ahead of a local derby, but isn’t too concerned as he knows both teams will be up for the challenge.
“The national coaches don’t really help out teams when there’s [local] derbies being played.
“It was quite interesting for me to see that in such a big week, they [Bulls] brought in the Springbok coaches to help them.
“But in saying that, it doesn’t matter who is coaching the team; it’s a North-South derby, and the players will be up for it.
“They’ll come out guns blazing at each other just to get the win at the end of the day.
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Laker also confirmed that the Stormers also make use of Bok coaching IP, but only when they play against teams outside of South Africa.
“They [Bok coaches] do come to us at times, but not when local derbies are being played.
“It would be when we play Leicester Tigers or Harlequins. I’ll contact Felix [Jones], and he will assist us with whatever he’s capable of, and he’s been phenomenal.
“Daan [Human] has been here at scrummaging sessions, and when Jacques [Nienaber] was still at the Boks, he used to visit our training sessions a lot.
“But that all fell out of this window; it only occurred when we played against overseas teams.”
