Ken Borland

Following their disappointment in the Rainbow Cup final, Bulls coach Jake White has had to carefully manage not only his players’ morale but also their bodies, with the team getting over the first of two Currie Cup hurdles in six days with their tight 32-27 win over the tricky Pumas in Pretoria at the weekend.

White said he knew his team were always going to be severely tested by the Pumas, who are fired up after not being involved in the Rainbow Cup and starting the Currie Cup with a bonus point hammering of the Lions. The Bulls, on the other hand, are tired, according to their coach. And they now have to travel to Bloemfontein to take on the Free State Cheetahs on Wednesday.

“Considering we had to fly home this week from Italy, it was long travel and we are tired, and I expected the team to be a bit flat. But we played really nicely, we kept the ball and built some phases. I would have liked it to have been easier after leading 25-10, but you can never underestimate the Pumas – they are a good side with lots of time to prepare for this match.

“So I am very happy to get five points and the guys had to dig deep. It was always going to be tough and we knew the Pumas would come hard, everyone wants to beat us. Unfortunately we let them slip back into the game at 25-10, but overall we’ve got to be happy. And it doesn’t get any easier, last year we lost to the Cheetahs away, so we know how tough that match will be and we need to do a lot of planning,” White said.

While the Bulls’ doctors were yet to examine Gio Aplon when he spoke, White said he feared the worst for the veteran Springbok who hobbled off the field just 25 minutes into his first start for the side.

“Gio really wanted to be a part of the team and it’s really unfortunate what happened. But we are playing so much rugby, week after week, and there are no easy fixtures in South Africa so the attrition rate is big. Gio was always here to help as a senior player because our backline is very young and we needed someone older and wiser. He knew the risk but he wanted to be part of it.

“He’s a fantastic person and a wonderful rugby player, he should have played 100 times for the Springboks, and you don’t want it to eventually end like that. But his chances are slim because he’s done his knee again and it’s the same knee. Sometimes you don’t get the ideal ending, in sport you can’t always write the script you want to have,” White said.

Bulls coach Jake White is not one to massage the egos of his players, but he said on Thursday that he hoped their “embarrassing” defeat in the Rainbow Cup final does not make them fearful and he wants them to go out and have a go when they return to action with a Currie Cup match against the Pumas at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

The Bulls were hammered 35-8 by Benetton Treviso in Italy, leaving them shellshocked. But White is hoping they will not be “gun-shy” against the fired-up Pumas side that never stands back, especially not with the confidence gained from their bonus point win over the Lions.

There are only a handful of players taking on their neighbours on Friday night who did not play in the Benetton ambush.

“There could be that fear factor, the guys could go into their shell because of the damage done last weekend, which would not be good. We’ve got to bounce back, we are still one of the top sides in South Africa, the Currie Cup champions, and there’s massive motivation. But the true test will come when the guys run on the field. I’m hoping what we learnt about intensity in Italy is taken a step up.

“We worked hard to get to 8-8 against Benetton but then we did not fire a shot. It was a different level of intensity and I want us to play and not be scared against the Pumas. We’re not going to lose the competition on Friday night and I want us to have a go after we were a bit gun-shy last weekend. The captain said they were a bit embarrassed and people expect us to rebound and react,” White said.

White said his search for something to “spark” the team was behind the selection of veteran Gio Aplon at starting fullback and the call-up of new signing Harold Vorster, the powerful former Lions star who has the chance to nail down the No.13 jersey.

“Gio is unbelievably important to us, after seven months out with a knee injury he makes a great try-saving tackle against the Sharks and he had three or four phenomenal touches in last week’s final. And that’s not mentioning how much work he puts into the wings, Madosh Tambwe and Stravino Jacobs, it’s like having a senior coach out there.

“Harold was phenomenal for the Lions and hopefully he and Gio can spark something because we were flat last week, a bit reluctant to play. They are experienced and hopefully they will have a go because they don’t feel as much pressure. I would like to see what we learnt in Italy translated into our game against the Pumas, we must make sure we take that pace and intensity forward,” White said.

Bulls team: Gio Aplon, Madosh Tambwe, Harold Vorster, Cornal Hendricks, Stravino Jacobs, Chris Smith, Ivan van Zyl, Marcell Coetzee (C), Ruan Nortje, Nizaam Carr, Janko Swanepoel, Walt Steenkamp, Mornay Smith, Schalk Erasmus, Lizo Gqoboka. Bench – Sidney Tobias, Simphiwe Matanzima, Jacques van Rooyen, Muller Uys, WJ Steenkamp, Zak Burger, FC du Plessis, David Kriel.

Loosehead prop Simphiwe Matanzima has always been considered a top-class prospect by the Bulls, ever since their scouts lured him from Queens College in the Eastern Cape to Pretoria, but a devastating double injury blow has prevented him from making a mark in the new Jake White era.

Now 23 years old, Matanzima made his Bulls senior debut in a Super Rugby derby against the Stormers in 2019. But in the opening round of the 2020 southern hemisphere competition he suffered a dislocated shoulder and then, when he made his return to training, he tore his achilles tendon last July.

So it has been a long way back for Matanzima and he finally got back on the field for the Bulls in their Currie Cup match against Western Province last weekend, putting in a lively display.

“I was out for 15 months and I’m just glad I’m done with rehab. I played one club game for Naka Bulle and I’m pleased that my first game back for the Bulls is now out the way. I was a bit rusty although I’ve been scrumming for the last couple of months, but I felt like myself and now I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season.

“Coming back was more of a mental challenge than physical because there’s a lot you can’t do and you’re alone a lot of the time. And it was a very serious injury so you worry that things might go wrong. You’ve just got to allow yourself to work through those emotions.

“It’s just a different level playing for the Bulls and it was against a good Western Province pack. With one squad in Italy and us only training together for a week, it was always going to be tough for us but we fought well. Jake White and Russell Winter have had a massive impact and it’s great learning from them. It’s never nice watching from the outside and it’s awesome to be back in the team now,” Matanzima said on Wednesday.

Since he suffered those injuries, the Bulls have signed Jacques van Rooyen, an old bull who has done really well on both sides of the scrum, and Gerhard Steenekamp has also made a big impact. Plus there is Lizo Gqoboka, snapping on the heels of the Springbok looseheads and clearly a force to be reckoned with.

“The more competition the better, that’s how you build squad depth, it’s healthy. It’s nice to challenge yourself and to scrum against strong packs, I relish the opportunity and the Pumas on Friday night will have a good pack. They are a strong side, they always play a physical game, they bring it, and they love to maul. So we know what to expect.

“But we also know what we can do if we play as a team. It’s going to be a tough battle,” Matanzima said.

Ripped apart by Benetton Treviso on one of the most frustrating days in Bulls history, coach Jake White decried the “arrogance” of South African rugby that saw most pundits and fans expecting the local champions to just rock up in Europe and win the Rainbow Cup final.

The Bulls were meant to be triumphant forerunners of a wave of South African teams entering and dominating European competition via the new United Rugby Championship, but instead there will now be many questions overseas as to what our teams are going to add to the proud Celtic league.

Ponderous, one-dimensional and error-prone in comparison with an impressive Benetton side that produced some dazzling rugby, the Bulls were hammered 35-8.

“It would be a bit arrogant to think that we could just arrive in Italy and beat a club side and then fly home. Sometimes as a coach you just have to take it, tactically Benetton were very smart and there was no one area where we stamped our mark, we were a bit short in everything. But I’m a realist and that’s the first time many of this team felt pressure like that.

“Benetton have a lot of experienced Test players, they’ve played against England at Twickenham and France in Paris, and when you get them here at home, they can play. We looked inexperienced and we can blame that, the heat or the crowd, but at the end of the day we got it wrong. It was up to us to find a way, to do things differently,” White said.

While the Bulls have basically physically-dominated everyone back at home, it is clear that they play a more highbrow form of rugby in Europe and the South African teams are going to have to adapt very quickly. South Africa’s dominant team have just been handed a whipping by a team, impressive as they were on the day, no-one in Europe seriously thinks is better than big guns Leinster, Munster and Ulster, never mind the Champions Cup teams.

“It’s a completely different game up North and Benetton are a well-coached team who played really well. We did not enjoy it today being convincingly beaten, but we have got to find our feet. Hopefully this loss makes us so much better and I’m glad for the opportunity to grow as a team. Our youngsters have now seen that it’s a completely different game up here.

“To the other South African teams I would say ‘Don’t come here thinking it’s the same as what you’re used to’. It’s a totally different sort of defence and attack that you play against, homework and analysis is going to be so important. Back home we know the teams and players and we thought we have been clinical there, but we have never been punished for not kicking the ball out like we were here,” White admitted.