The Vodacom Bulls may have fallen at the final hurdle for the second time in three years last season, but this coming Vodacom United Rugby Championship season coach Jake White believes they have bolstered their side with experienced players that will hopefully get them over the line.
The acquisition of players like Aphiwe Dyantyi, Cobus Wiese, Nama Xaba and Sintu Manjezi for instance are precisely the type of players that White is referring to - seasoned professionals who are in the prime of their career, late 20s of age and looking to power the team home.
Added to the young talent in their squad, White believes that this, plus the new Springboks in the team will propel the side to greater heights this season.
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Speaking at a URC Coaches Round Table, White said the experience was vital for the team, who in his eyes are still growing.
“I don’t think we need to change anything from last season. I think, to be fair, it will happen over time. You know, I think one thing we mustn't forget is I've been saying to you since we started that our squad is still very, very young, and still very, very inexperienced, and I think everyone would accept in our circles that we've we've exceeded our expectations the first three seasons,” White said.
“With the additions we have now, you know, guys like Cobus Wiese that are older, Nama Xaba, Sintu Manjezi from Glasgow, they’re all older. I think the blend is right and the group that we had together will age anyway. In other words, I think we have eight or nine guys in the Springbok setup now this year, which is the first time in a long time that this has happened.”'
BOK BOOST
White said the changes would be more nuanced, rather than radical in the way the Bulls approach the game.
“So, it's not a case of, you know, what do we change? Yes, I mean, obviously, we look at ways in which we approach certain things and things that work we will keep the same. And when we need to change, we change. But I think everyone in our club is on the same page and we've exceeded where we should be. And this will be a nice time for us to actually kick on and learn from the lessons we learnt, not only last year, for the last three seasons.”
White said the Bulls players that had featured in Rassie Erasmus’s Bok plans this season would be a boost to the Bulls when they returned to the side.
“I said it to someone on Monday, when was the last time we had relatively inexperienced players like Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw and Canan Moodie playing against the All Blacks at test level, and winning two tests in a row,” White explained.
“I mean, that kind of confidence and that kind of learning they got in those games will help us in playoff games in the URC and in the big games in the URC that we need to win. In the short space of three URC campaigns, we have had nine Springboks in the squad and that will make us a lot stronger, because we can almost pick a Springbok in every position now.
“And that is a great place to be if you want to win the competition.”