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Bulls to field near Bok-less side against Saints - reports
Bulls director of rugby Jake White is poised to name a significantly altered lineup for the upcoming Champions Cup quarterfinal against Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.
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Following gruelling matches against Leinster and Lyon and amidst preparations for their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash with Munster next week, White’s strategy suggests a prioritization of the URC over the Champions Cup.
The 60-year-old has heavily suggested he will be resting key players for the domestic challenge, with reports from SA suggesting the vast bulk of his Springboks have not travelled north to the UK.
Despite not officially announcing the touring squad, Netwerk 24 in SA reports have suggested the bulk of the Bulls’ Boks, including Kurt-Lee Arendse, Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw and Gerhard Steenekamp, Marcell Coetzee and Ruan Nortje are all been left behind.
Marco van Staden will also miss out through injury.
The final team selection for the clash with Northampton will be disclosed on Friday.
“Without giving my squad away, a lot of guys suffered bumps and bruises and a lot of guys need to be looked after as well,” White said – hinting that the team that travelled to Northampton may differ from that which travelled to Dublin a fortnight ago.
“It is one of those difficult decisions for me to make,” White said. “There are a lot of things I have to work on to ensure we can tick as many boxes as we can.”
“Munster [URC Round 14 at Loftus Versfeld] is not going away. It is important to understand that not only do we arrive [from eight different flights] at different times in England, we also arrive at different times [again numerous separate flights] back in South Africa on Monday.”
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With some players landing as late as 14.00 on Monday, training is going to be very complicated ahead of the resumption of the URC.
“We know what happened at Leinster two weeks ago and it is my responsibility to ensure we narrow that gap as quickly as we can.”
Whites refused to outright say he was prioritising the URC however.
“I want to ensure the Bulls are as competitive as we can be, every time we run out,”he said, adding that they want to reach the same standards as Leinster has.
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“Take nothing away from La Rochelle, who won it twice, and Toulouse, who won the Champions Cup five times, Leinster – with their academy and the way they bring players through – is the standard we need to get to.”
White pointed out how over the past five years the Bulls have seen numerous key players move abroad. The likes of Trevor Nyakane, Pierre Schoeman, Lood de Jager, Jason Jenkins, RG Snyman, Hanro Liebenberg, Arno Botha, Ivan van Zyl, Handre Pollard, Jan Serfontein and Jessie Kriel all now play their rugby overseas.
“If those guys were training here, we would think differently about competitions. That is where I want to get to and then I will be much more comfortable with where this team is.”
additional reporting Rugby 365
Comments on RugbyPass
Poetic justice for trying to sell him to Australia as another kiwi saviour coach, not ! Deans was just as bad actually but McCaw and Carter covered up for him. That’s why they didn’t want him as All Black coach, even after Graeme Henry’s bumbling effort in 2007.
2 Go to commentsSACK HIM !
2 Go to commentsSafas are so triggered by Ireland. 3 consecutive losses, incl RWC. 8 losses out of last 12 Tests. Always excuses, of course, with Bok fans. Now Rassie with his “88%” nonsense, the Claytons Excuse is an embarrassment to Bok teams of the past when every test mattered. Their fickle mojo will be on edge for the Ireland tour. Have the referees been appointed yet ? They will need security. Have WR laid out strict guidelines for TMO’s and replays on the stadium screens ? Will the constant stoppages from Bok forwards for cramps and bootlaces be tolerated ? We’re not talking a dominant Springbok team here, they won the LOTTO Cup and they know it whether they admit it or not. The Disney doco has their fans positively fermenting internally, its going to be a nasty hangover if they get beaten on home soil. What will the excuses be then……
90 Go to commentsGreat role model.
2 Go to commentsOne significant tell, not a single Waratahs player stopped to whinge to the ref about Finau’s tackle. They got on with playing the game. Great tackle.
8 Go to commentsWouldn’t be a bad move if Ireland pulled into SA with a young side. Particularly in Pretoria. Invaluable experience getting thumped in the bosveld.
90 Go to commentsIreland. The Princess Diana of Rugby. I never cheered so much for a team as i did for the All Blacks in that QF.
90 Go to commentsWill be great to see the Leinster first XV back in action again after their cotton wool time…
1 Go to commentsLooked up Grant Constable on google and reply was doppelgänger for Ben Smith
90 Go to commentsIt is so good that we now all get excited and debate who is best and emotionally get involved. We all back our teams which is great. Up until about 15-20 years ago, NZ was basically on its own, and then Saffa, Aussie and sometimes French and English were there. We now have at least 5-6 really top sides and another 4 who keep improving. This is so healthy. So we should not resort to rubbish comments and unhealthy debate, but rather all be chuffed that the product we watch is not competitive, exciting and often uncertain. It would be so good if World Rugger could find a way to align the rules to professional players as well as spectators. Live rugby games are SO boring as there is SO much down time as we wait for refs and TMOs and whoever else to look at every small event going back endless phases with the hope of eventually find a minute infringement to then decide cancel what was a wonderful try. This is the ultimate cork back in the bottle moment and feels like every balloon is always being popped. Come on- we must be better with the rules.
90 Go to comments“upon leaving said establishment I tripped over a stool knocking some bottles into the air and as I fell I accidently dislodged a police officer’s teaser who was passing by on an unrelated matter there by landing on said taser which caused it to discharge 50,000 watts into me. Out of shock I shouted Ireland are going to win the world cup. Upon waking up I apologised for the distress caused by my Ireland comment. The matter is closed. If you wish to pursue this matter may I remind you what I told Wayne Barnes when he sent me off. I AM A BIG ASS MAN”. Or was it “I AM A BIG ASS, MAN” or was it “I AM A BIG ASSMAN”?
2 Go to commentsThe only championship the Boks hold are: Great value for the incompetence of referees during the RWC Moaning endlessly and champions of spewing utterly ignorant 💩 at all times. Displaying the dangers of a third world education End of.
90 Go to commentsSouth Africa and Rassie do a phenomenal job of treating the 4 years in between World Cups as nothing more than a training exercise to build squad depth. The Six Nations money that keeps Irish rugby afloat is unfortunately too important to allow the same approach, and basic population size means we'll never get close to matching the depth of South Africa, England and France. That being said, Irish rugby is in a relatively good place and slowly improving inch by inch. If the other three provinces can pull the finger out and actually develop some players it'd be even better.
90 Go to commentsGood on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
2 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
90 Go to commentsNot sure Frisch will ever make the French team with Depoortère and Costes waiting in the wings to take over from Danty and Fickou.
1 Go to commentsThe Irish are tired and the Boks are old. The test series won't confirm who is best in the world, it will confirm which team needs to pursue the task of rebuilding with the most urgency.
90 Go to commentsGrant, the first time I have seen an article written by you. Maybe I have missed your previous stuff. These days all professional players effectively play a common season so all top players are equally tired, or rested. That is the job of the coaching ticket to build squad depth and juggle resources so players are ‘ fresh’ when the big games come. Possibly Ireland are less inclined to juggle squad compared to Rassie, who is prepared to take the risk to rest players as well as build depth throughout the year so come WC he has a full squad, experienced and rested enough to win 7 games. After all, to win WC you need to get through the tournament and then win the final big 3 games. Ireland should try and build a bit so come final 3 they are ready. So far only played final 1(QF). I am so looking forward to the Irish tour. Hopefully Rassie has enough time to align his guys, as he draws them from across the globe, and not from 2 sides locally( eg Leinster, Munster). No excuses, going to be exciting.
90 Go to commentsIn football, teams get fined and sometimes docked points for deliberately fielding weakened teams yet Leinster can pretty much do as they please with no comebacks. Could it be because Ireland run the URC? Could it be that Ireland run the ERC? Whichever it is, it stinks!!
6 Go to commentsIreland are only the People’s Champions in Irish eyes. The rest of the world do not care for them very much because of attitudes of people like Gordon, Ferris, Best, Jackman…I could go on!!
90 Go to comments