Normally someone who is never short of a word, Bulls director of rugby Jake White closed ranks with his team this week ahead of their United Rugby Championship opener against Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld tomorrow (3pm start).
The Bulls have not conducted any media conferences this week, with only today’s team announcement session scheduled before the Edinburgh clash, and have not acceded to any media interview requests either.
Of course, most of the SA rugby public’s attention is being focused on the Springboks’ Rugby Championship finale against Argentina in Mbombela tomorrow, but fans in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town will be looking out for the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers games this weekend too.
So, will the Bulls be able to cook up something special behind closed doors to beat Edinburgh?
Well, White spoke recently during a URC media round table about the lessons he and his team learnt from last year’s heartbreaking 21-16 final defeat to Glasgow at Loftus, and one of those key elements was managing his squad.
He felt that the cumulative effects of playing the Sharks, Benetton and Leinster – who were all filled with Test players – three weeks in a row took its toll when they got to the final against Glasgow.
White has made some key signings in recent months to assist in spreading the load throughout the season, including the likes of utility forward Cobus Wiese and utility backs Aphiwe Dyantyi and Boeta Chamberlain.
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But the Bulls got a massive shot in the arm this week for the Edinburgh encounter after Canan Moodie and Johan Grobbelaar were released from the Bok squad – along with Stormers flank Ben-Jason Dixon, who has joined the Cape side in Wales for their game against the Ospreys.
Moodie is someone who can really do with the game-time against the Scottish outfit after Bok coach Rassie Erasmus felt that he was a bit short of a gallop in his start against the All Blacks in Cape Town a few weeks ago, after returning from a lengthy hand-injury lay-off.
Still just 21, Moodie can operate equally well at right wing and outside centre, and has featured at fullback for the Bulls previously too.
With Willie le Roux and Kurt-Lee Arendse still in the Bok camp, Moodie is sure to start against Edinburgh, and perhaps picking him in the more familiar No 14 jersey might just be the tonic he needs to kick-start his campaign following his hand injury, so that he can find his rhythm to contribute to the Bulls and be in top form for the Bok end-of-year tour to Europe.
Star Bulls hooker Grobbelaar is in a similar boat, as he has been used sparingly in the national set-up over the past few months.
He has been leapfrogged by his franchise teammate Jan-Hendrik Wessels in the hooker pecking order, with the latter getting the nod to play off the bench against Argentina last week after Bongi Mbonambi was rested and Malcolm Marx started.
Wessels is also still with the Bok squad in Mbombela, with his ability to play at hooker and loosehead prop giving him the edge over Grobbelaar at the moment.
But the latter is a proven consistent figure for the Bulls in the URC, and he will want to remind Erasmus of his specialist qualities against Edinburgh.
Wiese – the younger brother of Springbok No 8 Jasper – got his Bulls career going during the Currie Cup after returning home from the Sale Sharks in Manchester, and his strong ball-carrying can be a real factor for the Pretoria side tomorrow.
Saturday. It begins.
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“Jasper and I didn’t grow up in a gym. We worked on the farm,” 27-year-old former Stormers lock and flank Cobus, who hails from Upington, said in a URC press release yesterday.
“I’m excited. It’s always good to be able to step into a successful team like the Bulls, which has been in the URC play-offs every season.
“I think Jake is an incredible rugby brain, and I certainly came back to South Africa with the desire to grow my game even more. The quality of players in this group is incredible.
“I think my role is to try and add my little bit to hopefully take this team all the way this season.
“I learnt a lot up north, and I’m looking forward to sharing some of that with my teammates. And from the start, it was really easy to settle in here at Loftus. It felt like I’d been a part of this team for years.”