Ken Borland

Springbok great Victor Matfield knows better than most that Jake White is a coach who demands a lot from his players, but South Africa’s most-capped player says the fruits of his approach can be seen in the Bulls’ triumph in lifting the Super Rugby Unlocked trophy at the weekend.

Matfield ended with a record 127 Test caps to his name, but it was during White’s tenure as coach from 2004 to 2007 that the Polokwane-born player became a kingpin for the Springboks and the best lineout forward in the world, culminating in him being the player of the final in the 2007 World Cup win.

“Jake White has never been happy with average and you can see that he is demanding a lot from the Bulls players, but it’s getting the best from them, the standards are lifting at Loftus. A lot of us former players thought that the Bulls needed change and then Jake came in and brought quite a bit of change. It’s a pity that there was no real Super Rugby this year because that’s the real test, but they did very well,” Matfield told The Citizen.

While brute physical strength once again seems hip in South African rugby and the Bulls’ pack was certainly the most physical in the competition, Matfield said the team’s success went well beyond simple forward-based rugby. When the ball did get to the backs, it pinged around in impressively incisive fashion.

“When the Bulls were physically up for it, like in the games against the Sharks and Stormers, then they were just ruthless. They had a very strong tight five and their loose forwards were great at the breakdown – in fact nobody in South Africa could compete with them at the breakdown. And then they had a No.9 [Ivan van Zyl] and No.10 [Morne Steyn] who controlled the game very well.

“I must admit before the season I was worried about their centre combination and I was very surprised by Cornal Hendricks at inside centre, he was outstanding, especially against the Stormers. David Kriel also did really well at fullback and the wings played well too,” Matfield said.

The Bulls may have their first piece of senior silverware in a decade in their trophy cabinet, but there will be no resting on their laurels, with forwards coach Russell Winter saying on Monday that winning the Currie Cup is now a massive goal for the team.

The Bulls clinched the Super Rugby Unlocked title at the weekend but, with points carrying over from that probable one-off competition into the historic Currie Cup, it certainly feels like a job only half-done at Loftus Versfeld. But at least they carry a four-point lead into South Africa’s biggest domestic tournament.

“The Currie Cup is massively important for us and it’s still early days this season because the Currie Cup only really starts this weekend. So we want to make sure we continue working and sharpening our blades. It’s about the detail and everybody is trying to be on the same page in terms of that, but it’s also about how we execute so we don’t want to over-complicate things.

“But there’s a really good working culture here and the players want to do well not just for themselves, but for their families, the supporters, the union and the sponsors. Jake White has created an environment where the players have to work really hard to make the team. But we also want to give everyone a chance, while doing what is best for the team going forward,” Winter said on Monday.

Where the Bulls seemed to have a discrete advantage over their rivals in Super Rugby Unlocked was in the sheer physicality and excellence of their pack, but Winter said their success was not just a matter of acquiring the biggest and most powerful players, but more about attention to detail.

“The players have been willing to work really hard and it’s not just about brute force. There is so much synergy required in things like making sure the lineout works smoothly. And the players have really absorbed and been open to what I have had to offer. It’s about the detail because all the packs in the competition are so well conditioned.

“The lineouts have been good so far and Ruan Nortje has been phenomenal, people don’t realise how young he is [22] and he’s taken on a massive responsibility in calling and organising the lineout. His work ethic is second to none, as well as those around him. But our scrums have been inconsistent and we’re not where we want to be with those,” Winter said.

And the former Stormers forwards coach knows that that is an area where Western Province will try and cause some cracks in the pack when they meet at Newlands on Saturday night.

“Western Province are probably the leaders in that department, they have such a good front row,” Winter added.

Bulls coach Jake White said winning the franchise’s first senior silverware in a decade will hopefully make their fans and the golden generation of players that featured in “the glory years” very happy following their 21-5 win over the Pumas at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend that clinched the Super Rugby Unlocked title.

It was the first trophy the Bulls have won since they claimed the third of their Super Rugby crowns in 2010, ending a decade of dominance that saw them also win the southern hemisphere competition in 2007 and 2009, as well as five (one shared) Currie Cup titles. White said winning the first competition he played in as the new director of rugby in Pretoria was a definite goal.

“It’s fantastic for the whole union because we have not won a senior trophy in 10 years, so there’s a lot of excitement and relief. Obviously we’re very happy that the fans now have something to be proud of and I think the guys who played in the glory years will also be very happy to see a new, young group win something. Hopefully winning creates a habit.

“We have the opportunity to win two trophies this season and we were fully aware that we are the only South African franchise to have won Super Rugby and we did not want to allow any other team on to that trophy. Seven months ago you would have said we had no chance, so it’s a massive relief and the players will gain confidence from this,” White said after the on-field presentation of the cup.

The attention now shifts to the Currie Cup, with the Bulls taking a four-point lead into that competition if, as expected, points are shared in the matches that were not played due to Covid-19. White, who was the Springbok coach between 2004 and 2007, will want to usher in the same sort of era of dominance at Loftus Versfeld.

“I’m very happy personally to have won the first tournament since my appointment here and I signed on the basis that the Bulls are a sleeping giant, they are one of the best franchises in the world, the Liverpool or Man United of South African rugby. That’s one of the reasons I came here – to win some silverware and there is a long-term plan.

“These are new players and there are things we still need to get right. It takes time and I can’t pick the same team week-after-week. Now in the first three weeks of the Currie Cup we play against the next three teams below us on the log – Western Province, Free State and the Sharks – and we now have four away games, which will be a leveller. So now we have to win away from home,” White said.

The Bulls fired on all cylinders for probably just the first 25 minutes, but it was enough for them to beat the Pumas 21-5 and clinch some more, long-awaited silverware for their Loftus Versfeld trophy cabinet as they won the Super Rugby Unlocked competition by four points over the Stormers and Sharks.

In what is probably the last ever Super Rugby tournament, it was perhaps fitting that the Bulls, as the only South African winners of the competition, signed off as the winners of this strictly local event. But it is also the first senior trophy to find a home at Loftus Versfeld since their 2010 Super Rugby triumph, so there will be great relief in Pretoria and a sense of justification that the appointment of Jake White as director of rugby has indeed borne immediate fruit.

The Bulls raced into a 21-0 lead inside those first 25 minutes, playing clinical rugby. Their superb pack was once again utterly dominant, they squeezed the Pumas in all the set-pieces, their driving maul was well-used and their ball-in-hand play was direct and incisive. And the Bulls’ breakdown work was hugely impressive, with flank Marco van Staden absolutely rampant and eighthman Duane Vermelen not far behind.

Wing Kurt-Lee Arendse opened the scoring in the 11^th minute from close range after one of numerous penalties had been kicked to touch five metres out; six minutes later flyhalf Chris Smith rounded off a period of very direct running by the Bulls as he forced his way through three tackles to score; and scrum Ivan van Zyl then sniped through a gap to score after a big scrum by the Bulls had earned a penalty against the Pumas on their own ball.

The marvellous rugby of the first half gave way to a scrappier, but more intensely competitive second half as the Pumas showed pleasing improvement. They stopped conceding a flood of penalties, they were better in the set-pieces, made fewer mistakes and, were it not for some lapses in decision-making at crucial times, they could have pushed hard for the win given how they turned around the territory and possession stats.

They showed their intent from the start of the second half, hooker HP van Schoor muscling over for a try from a lineout drive.

Given how brave the Pumas have been in fronting up for this game after 11 of their squad have been in quarantine for the last week, it was pleasing that they ended this phase of the season with their heads held high.

Also coming out of the math with great credit was referee Aimee Barrett-Theron, who became the first woman to referee at senior professional level in South Africa, and officiated with confidence, certainly being the mistress in charge out on the field.

Scorers

Bulls: Tries – Kurt-Lee Arendse, Chris Smith, Ivan van Zyl. Conversions – Smith (3).

Pumas: Try – HP van Schoor.