The Vodacom Bulls may not need to find another flyhalf for the rest of their season until Handre Pollard arrives, especially after Keagan Johannes’s impressive performance in claiming the man of the match award against Zebre Parma on Saturday.
Johannes may have had a few jitters against Leinster, but on the back of a dominant Bulls forwards performance, he made sure that he staked a claim for further selection with the big show against Zebre. Given the Bulls' concerns over injuries at the moment, it couldn’t come a minute too soon.
The Bulls are still missing Johan Goosen, and it is anyone’s guess when he will return to the field, while Willie le Roux is still out for a few weeks after his shoulder operation. Boeta Chamberlain came on at 10 off the bench on Saturday and is an option, but there has been no sign of Jaco van der Walt, who is injured.
White was asked for his assessment of Johannes’s form and said that he was so pleased he was considering him as a full-time 10 in future and no longer as a nine.
The Bulls already have Embrose Papier and Zak Burger at nine, with Johannes, who got very little game time in the position behind the other two halfbacks.
“I don’t think I am going to move him to nine again, and I was never going to anyway,” White said after the win over Zebre.“I have coached a lot all over the world, and you get guys like Frédéric Michalak, who plays nine and No 10. Morgan Parra, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde played nine and 10 for France. It’s very normal in France – look at Antoine Dupont, who has played both 9 and 10.
MORE OPTIONS
“It just gives us more options now that I know he can play nine and 10. And it will do his confidence good.”
White has tried the versatility card before, and has said on several occasions that if a player is versatile, it would enhance his Springbok chances. He tried it without success with Wandisile Simelane, who later left the Bulls for the Stormers, and with Aphiwe Dyantyi in the midfield and wing, while several of his signings - including the likes of Henry Immelmann (who is on loan at the Sharks) and Jaco van der Walt, can play in several positions.
At 10 in particular, the Bulls have had some issues, and have not been able to settle on anyone other than Johan Goosen, whose form has been up and down while he has been prone to injuries.
Meanwhile, the Bulls have kept it quiet which team they have taken to face Bayonne this weekend, leaving on Sunday for a Monday arrival in the French town ahead of their EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16 knockout game.
White admitted that Cameron Hanekom, who was withdrawn from the Bulls side on Friday, would be back, but there is still doubt on Canan Moodie and Cobus Wiese, two players vital to the Bulls' attack, and several others.
Ruan Nortje’s return against Zebre means that he is likely to be elevated back into the starting line-up and could well captain the side as well, while later in the week there should be some clarity on the shoulder niggle that has plagued Springbok hooker Johan Grobbelaar.