World Cup winner Jake White has tackled the greatest spending splendor of modern times in order to make the bulls a powerhouse again.
The Pretoria team was the dominant franchise in the southern hemisphere between 2007 and 2010, winning three of the four super rugby competitions during that time.
Loftus Versfeld, the Bulls’ fortress with 50,000 seats in a green suburb, was the scene of many great triumphs, especially the 61-17 defeat of the Chiefs in the 2009 final.
Victor Matfield talks to the eccentric Springboks trainer Peter de Villiers.
The ground was regularly full when enthusiastic fans showed up to watch stars like Fly Half Derick Hougaard, Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez and the castles Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha.
This year, Super Rugby had a different story before the coronavirus pandemic brought the five-nation competition to an end after just seven rounds.
A bull team sheared by stars like playmaker Handre Pollard, who went abroad after helping South Africa win the World Cup for the third time last November, lost five of six games.
The crowded stands at Loftus were a distant memory, and only a few thousand hardcore supporters came to witness one incapable exhibition after another.
The three-time champion finished 12th overall and hoped for a top 8 result and a quarter-final slot that was less than half of the regular season.
Something had to be given and coach Pote Human was fired, giving the ‘Mr. Rugby’s Fixit ‘, White, paved the way to take control in March and immediately start a killing spree.
“We need to rebuild a successful culture at Loftus,” 56-year-old White told AFP. “Winning games will bring back thousands of fans.
“It will not be an easy task as the team has had problems for some time, but we are ready for it.”
White has hired a flood of seasoned players, including many former springboks who have chosen to return home from Europe and Japan and spend the dawn of their careers in Pretoria.
Purchased backs include Gio Aplon and Travis Ismaiel, both after 30, but according to White, who has a lot to offer the Springboks who won the 2007 World Cup.
To strengthen the pack, he recruited World Cup winner Duane Vermeulen to South Africa after the striker had benefited from the richness of Japanese club rugby for a year.
Arno Botha, Nizaam Carr, Sintu Manjezi, Marcel van der Merwe and Walt Steenkamp were also contracted to create a practically new Bulls package for the pandemic after the corona virus.
There was no one-way traffic towards the Loftus changing rooms, although Warrick Gelant, Johnny Kotze, Manie Libbok, Divan Rossouw and Rosko Specman left.
Former Scottish striker Josh Strauss, who was born in South Africa, was the youngest departed after having had no effect this season in Super Rugby.
There were also coach changes, particularly the hiring of Russell Winter and the recall of former Bulls Super Rugby dealer Nollis Marais.
After being dismissed by a competing trainer as “video operator at training sessions”, White was successful wherever he worked.
Supported by the cunning Australian Eddie Jones, he led the Springboks with a 15: 6 triumph over England in Paris to World Cup fame in 2007.
White declined and Peter de Villiers became the first black Springbok coach to be asked to reapply for his national team post.
He later dramatically improved the super rugby fate of the ACT Brumbies in Australia and the Coastal Sharks in his home country, bringing both to the knockout phase.
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White won the second-class European Rugby Challenge Cup with the French team Montpellier and later coached Verblitz in Japan.
When Verblitz hired outgoing New Zealand coach Steve Hansen this year, White came home and agreed to join the cops.
Forward coach Winter is convinced that white can make the bulls a force to be reckoned with in Super Rugby.
“We should never be shy about announcing the South African style of play. When I train forward, I want them to show off their strengths – a brutal, confrontational kind of game.
“Of course, South African strikers are prepared for this style of play and it can work so well for us.”
Rugby has not been played in South Africa since mid-March due to the COVID-19 crisis. The most optimistic date for the resumption of the games is August.
SA Rugby will host a revised competition starting in August – similar to the Super Rugby style tournament that is already taking place in New Zealand. Australia will follow in July.
– Rugby365
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