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'To all the critics, I ask that you lay it off because he is probably one of the best'
Jake White has asked critics of Springbok fullback Willie Le Roux to ‘lay off” as he makes his debut for the Bulls as the Pretorians welcome Connacht to Loftus Versfield this Saturday in the URC.
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Le Roux – who signed for the Bulls in the off-season – has had his fair share of critics in recent years, despite being a near ever-present in South Africa’s back line when fit.
White was beaming with excitement when asked about getting the opportunity to see Le Roux in action for the Bulls, calling for the Loftus faithful to back him and the incredible knowledge he brings.
“I have never coached him but I watched him play back in the day in Boland as an under-19 and never realised he would end up being what he is now. I read on social media what people say about him and just cannot believe what I see.
“He has only been here for a week but it feels like he has been here for six months, he is unbelievable. He is like having a coach there. He is very clever and extremely skilful, I cannot wait for tomorrow to see how he goes because I am sure people will see just the value that he has.
“To all the critics, I ask that you lay it off because he is probably one of the best if not the best player to have played for the Boks and if he is not the best then he is definitely the cleverest.”
White went on to add: “The guy is unbelievable and I cannot believe it has only been a week. Even when he was at the World Cup he was asking for the defensive and attacking plays, wanting to understand what we are doing and now that he is here it feels like he has been here for a whole season. I can now understand why he gets picked week in and week out.”
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“In one week, I can’t believe what he has been able to do. It is like having a coach there, a coach who understands the game. I did hear this from the other players before arriving here, Canan (Moodie), Kurt-Lee (Arendse), Marco (van Staden) all said he is unbelievable to play alongside and now I see it too.
“Hopefully everybody else sees it too.”
Asked about the Vodacom Bulls Boks returning to play, White commented: “It’s a wonderful thing for us, they returned and were asking to play. Marco was saying he can’t wait to play, so it’s great for us,”
“The excitement and energy they bring is nice.”
White’s team undergoes eight changes, with Le Roux starting at fullback, backed by David Kriel and Stedman Gans in the centres.
‘Speed Kings’ Sergeal Petersen and Sebastian de Klerk start on the the wings, while scrumhalf Zak Burger and flyhalf Jaco van der Walt lead at halfback.
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The front row features Gerhard Steenekamp, Akker van der Merwe, and Wilco Louw. Reinhardt Ludwig and captain Ruan Nortje lock, with Marco van Staden and Elrigh Louw as flankers and Nizaam Carr at eight. The impact squad includes Simphiwe Matanzima, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Mornay Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Cyle Brink, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, and young World Champion Canan Moodie. Gates open at 14h00 at Loftus, promising family entertainment. White deflects Sharks game queries, focusing on the Connacht challenge.
Fourth place Connacht are riding high after beating the Sharks on SA soil and White isn’t underestimating the challenge the Irish province poses.
“I know Andy Friend well, and I think they have changed a few things. They are a difficult team to beat and they beat us by playing direct rugby when we played them away from home. We saw it again when they played last week, once they get closer to the try line they go for it,”
“Their result against the Sharks will give them a big confidence coming up to Loftus. However, we must not get sucked into that but rather focus and do what we need to do from our side!”
BULLS: 1. Gerhard Steenekamp, 2. Akker van der Merwe, 3. Wilco Louw, 4. Reinhardt Ludwig, 5. Ruan Nortje (c), 6. Marco van Staden, 7. Elrigh Louw, 8. Nizaam Carr, 9. Zak Burger, 10. Jaco van der Walt, 11. Sergeal Petersen, 12. David Kriel, 13. Stedman Gans, 14. Sebastian de Klerk, 15. Willie le Roux
REPLACEMENTS: 16. Simphiwe Matanzima, 17. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Janko Swanepoel, 20. Cyle Brink, 21. Embrose Papier, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Canan Moodie
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments