CAPE TOWN - Who would have thought – a Jake White-coached South African team playing an attractive, attacking brand of rugby that captures the imagination of the fans, and takes you to the top of the log.
Well, that is what the former Springbok coach has achieved in just a few weeks at the Bulls, and he is excited about how much more his players can improve following a thrilling display in the 39-6 Super Rugby Unlocked victory over the Stormers on Saturday night.
The jokes about the Covid-19 crowd restrictions not making much of a difference to the atmosphere at Loftus Versfeld – because there were hardly supporters there anyway in recent years – may have been in the past by now, as Bulls fans would think it’s 2009 all over again.
Morné Steyn is running the ship, and even Fourie du Preez is involved again – his substantial influence on Ivan van Zyl has been clear and obvious, to use a modern-day refereeing term.
White said that the first half was “probably the best we’ve played in a long time” after watching his team score five excellent tries that was a mixture of forward power and finesse from the backs, but he did not want to get too carried away at this stage, insisting that “We haven’t won anything yet”.
The Bulls know that the Cheetahs still have two games in hand, so the Super Rugby Unlocked title race – and the Currie Cup later – is far from over, with the Lions lying in wait at Ellis Park on Saturday (7pm kickoff).
“The thing that I enjoyed the most was the continuity and the sort of play between backs and forwards. It wasn’t a case of just playing with our forwards – although I must say our forwards were outstanding,” White said.
“Some of the touches and some of the offloading, all of that sort of interplay was very pleasing. I must say, we had a couple of chances where we went through and didn’t finish. I remember the one where Cornal (Hendricks) went through and he had Kurt-Lee Arendse on the outside. It’s funny when you coach and you can be critical of that sort of thing, where you know you could’ve scored two or three more tries.
“But as long as we learn from that and get better. There is a long season ahead and the final is on 23 January. If that is the kind of improvement we’ve had in a small space of time, I’m looking forward to seeing where we can be in the next two months.”
While the forwards won the collisions and got good success out of their driving maul, the way the backs took on the Stormers defence was a delight to see. White mentioned that “the game hasn’t changed – they say the forwards decide whether you will win, and the backs by how much”, and this rung true on Saturday night.
You can have all the possession in the world, but if you don’t know what to do with it, it doesn’t mean much. The Bulls kept on asking the Stormers defence challenging questions – handle the high ball, stop our wings from taking the outside gap or cutting inside, knock our forwards back – most of which the Capetonians were unable to answer.
One of the players who sparked things on attack was No 13 Stedman Gans, who grabbed a brace and was chosen as the Man of the Match. The former Blitzboks captain seems to have that unique attribute that top players have, time on the ball, and White expressed his satisfaction with the 23-year-old’s development in the 15-man game.
“I’ve enjoyed the combination between Stedman and Kurt-Lee growing and growing and growing. They both could play wing, and I’ve enjoyed moving them into the midfield where they can get their hands on the ball,” he said.
“Stedman has played against Lukhanyo Am, whom we rate as the best outside centre in South Africa, and probably in the world. In a space of a month, he’s played against Lukhanyo twice, and there’s no doubt that when he comes off the field, he takes that confidence on to the next game.
“It’s wonderful to see those two guys combining like they do, as it creates something for us outside. And with our forward pack as it is now, it is difficult for defenders to know where we are going to go.”
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