Ken Borland

Jake White was clearly having a bit of a laugh when he said his Bulls team might go to Newlands on Saturday and not kick at all in their Currie Cup opener against great rivals Western Province at Newlands, but the canny World Cup winning coach has already had the last laugh with the way he has turned things around at Loftus Versfeld.

White has always given a good press conference because he is engaging, loves a chat and he is not averse to playing a few mind games, especially before the big matches. In domestic terms, it seldom gets any bigger than the Bulls against the Stormers/Western Province, the famous north versus south derby.

Probably the most impressive feature though of White’s coaching at Loftus Versfeld has been the way the Bulls have shown the ability to play different kinds of rugby. The general expectation when he arrived in Pretoria was that the Bulls would play a conservative brand of rugby, going back to their old strengths of almost 10-man rugby: a powerful pack dominating the tight exchanges and then the halfbacks kicking the leather off the ball and the stuffing out of the opposition.

And while White has recently been giving hints that they will need to perfect the conservative approach once they start playing in the Pro16 competition in the miserable European winter, the Bulls backs have been playing with a new-found verve and sparkle. Sevens Springboks seem to be having a much bigger impact in XVs these days, but White has gone further than most in choosing three of them in his backline – Kurt-Lee Arendse, Stedman Gans and Cornal Hendricks.

White has never been a great publisher of his strategic thinking in the build-up to his campaigns, but there was barely a hint of Hendricks’ move to inside centre before it happened in the official opening friendly of the season, the Bulls’ game against the Sharks on SuperFan Saturday.

While many viewed the decision with trepidation – especially those used to the normal big bruisers who have played inside centre for the Bulls – White’s eye for talent and shrewd rugby brain has once again been proven because Hendricks has been a revelation in the No.12 jersey. He has been the key to the exciting backline play they have produced, while he has also shown no signs of vulnerability defensively.

The thing about White is that he is a true student of the game and his attention to detail is second to none; from prop to fullback, the coach will be very precise in what he wants from his players.

It has been remarkable how the Bulls have gone from the lower reaches of the 2020 Super Rugby log, winning just one of their six matches before Covid-19 struck, to the champion team in South Africa, but that’s what happens when hard work is backed up by tactical excellence and a coach who has the experience and nous to get the little things, that make such a big difference, right.

While White’s lateral thinking has taken him to the perimeters of rugby wisdom at times, he also puts great store in the importance of the basics. Little wonder then that in his recruitment and his selection thus far he has concentrated on building the most physically intimidating, formidable pack in South Africa. Their dominance of the gain-line has been key to everything else they have tried to do on the field.

There are many who wrote White, who will turn 57 in two weeks time,  off as one of the antiques of world coaching, but the value of having an experienced, well-travelled coach – he has also worked in Australia, France and Japan – has become very apparent at Loftus Versfeld.

A great forward-planner, White has also worked hard in his position of director of rugby to put together structures for the entire Bulls system. The art of coaching is not about gimmicks or fancy moves, but mastering the basics.

White seems to be doing that at Loftus Versfeld, and a powerful Bulls team is good news for South African rugby as a whole.

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.

Cricket South Africa is in good health and the Board is staying put because of the great job they have been doing; that was the message the organisation conveyed to members of the national squad in a virtual meeting late last week, according to a Protea who spoke to The Citizen on Monday on condition of anonymity.

According to acting CEO Kugandrie Govender, the portrayal of CSA as a sickly, embattled federation is disinformation and she blamed the media for their woes, which include financial worries, a governance crisis that has forced the Minister of Sport to step in, no fixtures confirmed yet for the Proteas this summer and a Board and executive that has been wracked by resignations and dismissals.

Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa has been adamant that the Board should step aside and allow Sascoc to set up an interim board, with particular focus on the Fundudzi Forensic Report and implementing the recommendations of the Nicholson Commission from 2012. He has given CSA until October 27 to offer reasons in writing as to why he should not intervene.

CSA have given no response to Mthethwa’s damning statement from last week, but did try to reassure the players in a virtual meeting to which the players’ union were not invited.

“The Board were in on the call to us, and they said they are going nowhere. We were shocked,” the Protea said. “They were quite adamant about it. People like Temba Bavuma asked probing questions but Kugandrie just talked around it and didn’t answer our questions.”

CSA may have made a R50 million profit before taxation for the financial year ended April 30, according to their 2019/20 Annual Integrated Report, but their message to the players that they are in a stable financial position is based on several assumptions.

England may still arrive in South Africa in mid-November for six limited-overs matches which would bring in around R70 million for CSA, but there is no indication yet that government has approved that tour or that the scheduled tours by Sri Lanka and to Pakistan over December/January will happen. Australia are also meant to tour for a Test series at the end of the summer.

But the longer the current Board hangs on to power, and the governance scandals rumble on and on, the more damage is done to CSA’s credibilty and that has already had an effect on the bottom line with broadcasters, sponsors and supporters jumping ship.

It would seem CSA have relied on terrible legal advice from Bowmans – whose ties with CSA company secretary Welsh Gwaza, a former employee, are a concern – to bunker down and try and keep the forensic report they themselves commissioned as secret as possible.

While CSA’s directors may see themselves as corporate bigwigs not compelled to operate transparently, Mthethwa’s intervention is based strongly on CSA being a public entity, custodians of a sport that belongs to the public, and he can rely on broad support for his strong stance.

After sensationally bursting on the scene last year, 2020 has undoubtedly been a year of great frustration for Herschel Jantjies, but the 24-year-old scrumhalf has decided whatever time he has in the Springbok camp over the next couple of months will be a time of investment in making him an even better player.

Jantjies began 2019 not even sure of his spot as the Stormers No.1 scrumhalf, but his Super Rugby campaign was so outstanding that he was chosen for the Springbok squad, practically out of nowhere. His rapid ascension continued when he scored two tries on his Test debut in the 35-17 win against Australia at Ellis Park, and he ended the year as a Rugby Championship and World Cup winner, back-up to Faf de Klerk and with a nomination for World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year.

But then came 2020 and Jantjies’ woes started well before the Lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. His own form was as inconsistent as the Stormers’, and then he fractured his leg in their last game before Lockdown, against the Sharks in Durban. But the timing has been perfect for the Kylemore product and now that rugby has resumed, he is raring to go, as evidenced by his dynamic display last weekend against the Lions at Loftus Versfeld.

“It was actually a blessing in disguise having a fractured leg going into Lockdown. It meant I had the time to recover, it took six to seven weeks for the fracture to heal and then there was all the rehab and getting match fit. And now I’m really excited to be back and really looking forward to this week with the Springboks. In this week with the Gold squad, I’m just going to take in as much as I can because there’s a lot I can still improve on.

“It took quite a bit of time, but I was ready exactly when we planned – when we started full-on contact – and I just can’t wait to play some full-on rugby. In the meantime you’re never too old or too young to learn and I am still in the phase of my career when I am learning a lot. Then I just have to apply it to my game so I become a better player,” Jantjies said on Tuesday from Cape Town, where the Green and Gold squads are preparing for the Springbok Showdown at Newlands on Saturday.

Youngsters Damian Willemse and Curwin Bosch are the two flyhalves in the Gold squad and Herschel’s namesake but no relation, Elton Jantjies, is now the senior No.10 in the Springbok squad after Handre Pollard’s serious knee injury, and is intent on helping the less experienced wannabes along.

“It’s a big week for us because we want to get the alignment right between the old and new faces. It’s about being warriors, aligning with the group and having discipline. It’s really tough to lose Handre because he was starting to play really good, consistent rugby, and we helped each other. But if it’s my opportunity to fill that role then I’m definitely ready.

“In the meantime I just want to help the younger guys in the team to feel comfortable in the environment so that they can come out on Saturday and execute their skills. Until the Rugby Championship is confirmed, our main focus is on the Currie Cup/Super Rugby. But I’m sure we will be physically prepared and mentally as well,” Elton Jantjies said.